What are we gonna do now?
by Norwalker
Summary: Post 'chosen ' fiction. Buffy Faith. Rated R. Ok, summary sucks. Just read, please. You might enjoy it. thanks )
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own them. They own them all. I just write about em.

Author's Note: Well, ok, I'm throwing my hat in the ring with yet another post 'Chosen' fiction. Not a Spuffy fic, not a Billow fic, but a Fuffy fic. Yes, once again The Slayers, The Chosen Two are the main characters. Ok, here are the warnings. It's gonna probably be slow again. Don't know how well I can pull this off. So no guarantees as to length, completion, or updates. Do my best. If you want to read some really good post chosen Buffy/ Faith fics, I suggest " These Secrets Kept" and it's prequel " Our Secrets Made" By VixenRaign. I have read them, and enjoyed them thoroughly. 

Any of you who read my previous B/F story " Summer of faith" and are reading this, I hope it doesn't disappoint. I want to thank each and every one of you who encouraged me on. I'm not sure if I will continue that story, only because as of this moment, it has reached a logical conclusion in my mind. But if the teenagers start beating on the walls of my imagination saying " Use me, use me" I will put it up. Now we are going to a different time in their lives, and different people really. Cause this one is based on the B/F relationship Joss Whedon created in the now departed " Buffy the Vampire Slayer" series. If I get stuff wrong, sorry. But this is my own little universe, and since I get to play God, what I say goes. Heh. Being  God could have its perks, eh?

Ok, enough. Lets see how this goes. Thanks for reading, and review if you will. =)

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What're we gonna do now?

Chapter one

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Buffy held the picture in her hand. She had been looking at it a lot, recently. She was once again thinking about that day. That day that had changed everything in her life.

She remembered how it came about. It was just after they had defeated the First Evil. They were standing near the crater formerly known as Sunnydale. She had been looking into the crater, her mind awhirl with all that had happened, and what might happen from here.

Buffy:

I was standing there, staring deep into the crater. I couldn't my mind wrapped around what we had done. We had defeated it. The First Evil. It was…amazing, joyful, and sad. Sad, because of those we lost in the fight. But it still was … just incredible. I still couldn't believe we had done it. And, what it meant now. Cause it was no longer just " The Chosen One" but , instead, "The Chosen Many". I don't know how it worked, that's Will's thing. I just know it worked. It made all the potentials "Slayers". Totally cool. They had fought so well. I was so proud, I ….   
  


"Yeah, Buffy. What are we gonna do now?"  I heard Dawnie ask. I turned around , and saw this amazing group of women.  Dawn, Willow, Kennedy, and Faith. They had saved the world. My heart was just ready to burst. But of course, I couldn't get too deep into that mushy stuff. They'd rebel and make me walk.

" I dunno. Lets see. We just defeated the First. We saved the World. What say, lets go to Disneyland" I quipped

They laughed at my stupid joke, and kinda relaxed a little. 

" How about a group hug, then?" I asked. Everyone agreed to that, and we came together, in one big hug. It was great.

I then went around, and hugged each one individually. I think that either scared them or worried them; they let me get away with it anyway.

Dawnie was easy. She hugged me right back. " You were amazing Dawn. You saved your sister's ass again" I said to her. She was all grins.

Willow too was used to huggyness. "You did great, Will. I knew you could do it." She went a little red, and smiled shyly.

Kennedy, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to bolt. I grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her in. " You be good to Will, hear?" I said to her, hugging her. She replied, jokingly " And if  I'm not?" " Then I'll have to come and break you neck, I guess" I told her, half-jokingly. She didn't hold the hug too long.

Faith stood off a little, looking at her boots. I said " Faith?" and she looked up, grin on her face. " We did it huh?" I went to her, and I think I surprised her when I gave her this huge hug. She stiffened a little, then relaxed. I whispered to her " Hey, you were great. I couldn't have done it without ya." Oddly , she blushed and hugged me tighter. It was great.

I stepped back a little, and just looked at the group. I was trying to burn it in my mind. I guess I knew even then that we would all split up, and I wanted this memory really bad.

" Man, this sounds stupid, but I really wish I had a camera right now" I said.

" How come, Buffy?" Dawnie asked, a little puzzled.

" Cause, I want a picture of the women who saved the world" I grinned. I think everyone got a little shy and stuff at that. I heard a little cough.

" Buffy" Willow was waving at me

"Yeah, Will?" I looked over at her. She rummaged in her bag, and pulled out a disposable camera. I had to laugh.

" Gee, Will, you never let me down, do ya?" I grinned, and she blushed again. 

I got the camera from her, and waved them all into a group. Willow spoke up.

" Hey, Buffy, you need to be in here too"

I chuckled " Yeah, I guess I do. Hey Giles, got a minute?"

Giles walked over, and said " Yes, Buffy?"

" I want to take a group picture of us. Ya know? Women who saved the world" I grinned.

He smiled, and said " That's a splendid idea. Go on, all of you get in a group"

 I started over, and noted Faith had wandered off, and was standing alone. Oh, no you don't. I grabbed her, and she got this "What? What? " look on her face. I brought us into the center of the group. On impulse, I grabbed her hand, and raised it above our heads. The rest saw this, and started doing the pumping the air thing. And that's the picture. Five women. In victory, strong and proud. It's great. I got a copy for everyone, and I keep mine close to remind me.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

So, where am I now? Buried under a sea of paperwork. My inbox always is overflowing, my outbox I haven't seen in months.

I'm tired. So tired.

"Elizabeth?"

I'm tired of the paperwork. It never ends. This report, that summary , the other proposal. I'm not a paperwork kinda gal, ya know? I'm a hit 'em where it hurts, and run like hell if they can kill me kinda gal. This is just too much like work.

"Elizabeth?"

I'm really tired of the weather. It's cold too much of the time here. Ok, I was really, really jazzed the first year having a white Christmas and all. But hey, now it's real old. I mean, how's a girl to get a tan if you have like sun maybe 3 weeks a year, if your lucky? And all the rain is making me crazy.

"Elizabeth? Ms. Summers?"

And I'm wholly sick and tired that they can't get my name right. Buffy. Is that so hard? Buffy? It must be a genetic thing here. I've tried repeatedly to get them to remember " Buffy". But it seems they can only use 'proper' names here. So, what is so unproper about Buffy?

"Yes, Rowan, what is it?" I ask my P. A. That's another thing. Personal Assistant. I think it's a cool title. But I can't tell HER that. She gets offended. She is a 'secretary' and anything else makes her upset. Sigh. I swear I'm living 40 years ago. But I guess all of  England is like that.

" Can you take a look at these proposals? They're from the Istanbul office, and really need a quick decision" 

Sigh, it just never ends.

" Ok, Rowan. But you have to promise to do something for me" I reply

" Yes, Ms. Summers?"

" Please, Please, PLEASE call me Buffy…ok? You'll get a response out of me faster if you do" I beg her, for the 10 millionth time.

" Ok, Eliz… Buffy" She replies, like it's poison on her lips

Well… that might last the rest of the day. Or an hour. Or ten minutes. Sigh

How did I get myself into this mess, anyway? How did I go from carrying stakes and swords to carrying PDA's and a laptop? From battling demons and vamps to fighting with bureaucrats and department heads? I swear, if I'd known this was my fate, I never would have agreed to come here two years ago.

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It was right after I got out of the hospital. Oh. I forgot… didn't get to that part of the story. Ok, rewind.

 We got on the Bus, and headed towards L.A. I called Angel to try to get us into a hospital fast. I guess we could have stopped along the route, but have you ever tried to explain sword wounds to a small town hospital(if it's not on a Hellmouth, that is). At least in L.A. probably be no questions asked. 

Anyway, I get an old card of his I had. You know the one. White with the Angel on side, and the phone number on the other. I dial it into the working cell we have, and I get " Good Morning, Wolfram and Hart. How can I direct your call?" from some over perky receptionist. Geeze, I swore I dialed that right. " I'm sorry, I must have the wrong number. I was looking for Angel Investigations" I replied back. And then, it's twilight zone time. " Oh, yes. Angel Investigations is a part of Wolfram and Hart, now. The Managing staff has taken over running the L.A. Branch of Wolfram and Hart. Angel is the CEO of this branch, now. So, how may I direct your call?" She responds. Whoa… what is going on? " Well, can I talk to his CEOness then? Er…Angel, please." I tell her. I get the usual muzak( except, was that an ad for revivication?) When Angel comes on the line. " This is Angel, how can I help you?" " Angel?" I say "Buffy?" He says. Yeah, we have riveting conversations at times." What's going on? Wolfram and Hart? Sounds like a law firm, not a PI agency" " It actually is a multidimensional law firm, but we can talk about that sometime. What's up? Why are you calling?" He answers. Whoa…now I really gotta get the skinny on this. But later, I have my girls to look after. I explained about what happened, and all. He says he'll make all the arrangements, and that if I can give him an approximate route, he will have an escort meet me at city limits. HUH? What is GOING on here? So, I tell him what I think the route will be, and then hang up. I'm sitting there, a bit stunned, still trying to take this all in, when Faith sits down next to me

"So, B. Is fang gonna help us out?" She asks

" Faith, why do you always call him that? It must piss him off a little" 

"Aw, B. Its fun to tease Mr. Broody, don't ya think?" She grins. I laugh. I have to agree it's fun to kinda take him off his brood at times.

" Yeah, he is gonna help us out. Hey, did you know he was like head of some big law firm? I think it's Wolfram and Hart?"

Faith's eyes go wide, and she nearly screams " WOLFRAM AND HART???" Everybody looks, and then kinda turns away.

Ok, now I gotta know what's going on

"Yeah, I was kinda blown away too when they answered. But according to Ms. Perkyvoice, Angel has taken over running the L.A Branch of Wolfram and Hart."

" B. Wolfram and Hart is like Big mojo bad evil law firm. They are multidimensional. They have been the big bad for Angel for a long time, at least that is what he told me. Are you sure it was Wolfram and Hart?"

" Faith, I'm blonde, not deaf" I laugh.

"B. This is serious stuff. Something big musta happened while we were fighting The First."

"Well, evidently he's in charge. So, he musta won? All I know is that he is arranging rooms for the girls at Queen of Mercy Hospital in L.A. and we will have an escort as soon as we hit L.A. City limits. That doesn't sound like his old stuff, for sure."

Faith just shakes her head. Great. Now we're both confused. I change the subject.

"So, Faith. How's Robin doing?" I ask her.

She has this worried look on her face, and I hear concern in her voice, " Oh… well, he is weak. And he's lost blood. But I think he'll probably be ok if we get him treatment soon"

"Faithy. You're getting all mothery" I grin at her, trying to joke her up a little. She gives me a punch, and a grin

" Hey, no way, B." She denies

" So, you and Robin is it, then?" I'm so not letting her off the hook

"Umm… maybe?" She looks a little bashful . Ahhh, seen that look before.

" Robin and Faithy, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" I tease her

" Hey, can it, B." She gives me a poke…near where my little present from The First is. I wince.

Now her look of concern shifts to me. " Hey, B? Are you ok? You don't look all that hot"

"I'm fine, Faith. Just a bit stuffy in here, is all"

" I dunno, B. Let me take a look" She starts to lift my blouse, but I slap her hand away.

" I'm fine. Honest. It's just really kinda stuffy in here." I open a window " There, better." I see her look. " Ok, ok faith, I'll have it looked at when we get to the hospital, ok? Geeze, mom" I tease her again.

Faith gets a little sad look on her face

"Hey, what Faith?" 

" Aw, nothing. Just thinkin. Sorry about your mom, B. She was great. She always treated me well"

" Yeah. I miss her too. Sometimes, a lot."

"Been hard on you, hasn't it? What, raising Dawn, coming back from the dead, having to deal with all this?" She lays her hand over mine.

I squeeze her hand, and smile at her" Well, you have really helped me out, Faith. You just jumped in, and really made things easier for me. Don't know how I woulda gotten through it without you."

She smiles, and gets a little pink in her cheeks. Kinda cute, really. Never remember Faith blushing before. " Well, I have a lot to make up with you, ya know".

" I think we've come a long way towards that, don't you? Anyway, I got stuff to make up to you too." I'm beginning to feel a little sleepy. " Hey, Faith, could we talk more later? I'm kinda getting tired. Maybe take a little nap?"

" Sure, B. We'll talk later." She pats my hand, and gets up to check on Robin. I giggle. She's getting all maternal over him.

As I drift off to sleep, I'm thinking ' hey, maybe we can like finally be friends, and get past all our crap. That'll be nice'

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

I wake with a start. The bus has stopped in front of a large hospital complex. Queen of Mercy. Yeah, this is it. I get out of my seat, but feel a little shooting pain. I ignore it. Musta slept wrong, I figure.

Anyway, there is Angel at the entrance, looking all broody and hair-gelness. Ok, I'm kidding. He looks good. And studly. But hey, we've been down that road before. No going back. Unless they fix that clause thing. Not even sure then. I'm not 16 anymore, and I've sure changed, I know that.

Anyway, I hop off the bus, and check out how things are going. Will, Kenny( nice nickname for Kennedy, don't ya think?) and Faith are on top of it, but I still worry, ya know? I think sometimes I channel the ghost of Joyce Summers. heh. Once I'm sure everything is peachy, I sit on one of those benches in front of the hospital. I'm a little winded. Weird, but hey, it's been a big day, ya know? Faith sits down next to me.

" Hey, B. didn't you promise to get that wound of yours checked when we got here?" Boy, did I say I was channeling Joyce Summers. Well, I was wrong. I laugh

" In a little while, Faith. Just resting a bit. So, Robin all comfy cozy tucked in" I grin at her. She blushes.

" Yeah, he's good. Doctors think his wound is serious, but he is pretty strong, for a civilian. Must be the slayer blood in him, eh?  Anyway, they think he should make a full recovery"

" So, Faith. Do any thinking on what you like to do . You and Robin? That kinda stuff?

" I dunno. Guess we'll play it by ear, see how it goes" She said, her tone kinda neutral

" What about you, B? Glad to finally be free. Not the "Chosen One" anymore?"

I laugh " Yeah, nice to know I can take a vacation now if I want"

" But you know what, Faith? I don't want  any other girl to go through what we did"

" I gotcha. This chosen one gotta save the world no choice crap really gets old"

" I want to, if I can, be sure that any potential…slayer…god, it's confusing…has a choice. No more this is your destiny, no choice, pay up your life insurance cause you dying early crap. Not without at least the choice to do it or not"

" So, what you thinkin, B?" Faith asks

" I dunno. I know that Giles is thinking of bringing back the Watcher's Council. Maybe I'll hook up with him, get some slayer input going. I think it's been way too long since they have had a Slayer make the rules. If ever, which I doubt."

Faith gives me rueful grin " So, you're not getting out of the Biz, then, eh?"

"Well, maybe I can just do this, then split and have a real life, ya know?" I said, hopefully

We know THAT didn't happen

" I know one thing , though, Faith. I want to keep in touch, ya know? I mean, I did things, you did things, we both did things to keep us apart, but I would like to change that. Be friends, maybe?" I look at her and I see her eyes are bright, kinda teary.

"Ya, B, I'd  really like that" her voice is kinda wavery.

"Aw, Faithy, you're not gonna get weepy on me , now are ya?" I say, but I feel tears in my eyes too. Damn, I'm getting teary now. Poop. Ah well, anyway we hug, and we both get all stupid and cry a little, and hug again. 

" Well, I guess we should see about getting someplace for the other girls to stay" I say, starting to get up.

" Yeah" Faith says, getting up quickly, and starting away.

 Suddenly, I feel a totally massive pain shoot through me, and then again…and I'm feeling really crappy.

"Umm…Faith?" I call out, kinda weak like. " I'm not feelin' so good" 

I musta fainted then, cause I don't remember much after that.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Faith:

I hear B calling out, kinda sickly like. I turn around, and she is collapsed on the ground!

SHIT! I go over to her, and turn her over, damn, she has blood all over her blouse! What the hell is the stupid girl thinking?

I scoop her up in my arms, and run her into the emergency room. I'm calling out  " HEY! HEY! DOCTOR! NEED A DOCTOR HERE!" and I'm surrounded by Willow, Angel and Kennedy.

"What happened?" Willow asks, looking upset.

" I dunno. We were talking, we got up to leave, and she collapsed. Man, she's got a lotta blood goin. Where's the fucking doctor? " I'm not real great doing this kinda thing, ya know?

Anyway, some orderlies or whatever brings over a stretcher, and they take her to ER. Then, they take her to surgery.

Well, surgery last like 4 hours, and all of us are going a little nuts. Red is all scared looking, and Kenny is trying to comfort her. I'm pacing back and forth, cause I'm really scared. And Angel…well, he is totally broody and pacing. I swear we must worn grooves in that floor before the doctor came out. And Dawnie? Once she heard, she wanted to be in the operating room. Man, for a non slayer that girl is strong. We had to hold her back, and she is sitting all alone, looking deathly scared. Not her first time at this, I remember being told. I go over and give her a hug, and she seems grateful. I sit next to her, and hold her hand 'til the doctor comes out .

" Are you family to Ms. Summers?" The doctor asks.

" I'm her sister" Dawn says.

"Well… your sister is very lucky. Frankly, I'm amazed she is alive. That wound did some serious damage, but she already looked like she started healing. Never seen anything like it. Looks like she'll be ok, but it'll take awhile."

"Doctor, do whatever you need to do. All expenses are covered" Angel says. Well, I can see fang still carries the torch for B.

Why do I feel the tiniest bit jealous? Ahhh

Anyway, it's just good to hear she's gonna be ok. But boy, that blonde can really scare the hell out of ya. Damn, she is good at that.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy:

So, I wake up, and its so bright I shut my eyes again. Then open them one at a time. Oops. Tubes, running out of me like a freeway map. Heart monitor, all the pretty lights and noises. Yup. Hospital . Damn can't I get a break here? I hate these places…esp. when I have to be the one in the bed.

And then there are all these worried faces around me. Giles looks all Gilesy…you know, concerned, but really wanting to clean his glasses. Heh. And Angel looks even more broody than usual. And his hair gel is mussed. Kinda cute, actually. And Will…looks relieved, and wants to sock me at the same time. And Faith is just looking worried. 

" So, hey. What? Did I slip or somethin'?" I croak out. Damn...breathing tube, too

" Buffy, what were you thinking? You had us all scared to death" Will scolds me. I laugh, but it sounds more like a frog in heat.

" Hey, Will. No big. A few stitches, be fine in no time" 

"Grrr. Buffy Summers!" Oh, oh " If you weren't so tubey and all, I…I…I'd sock you" Will blows up in her cute Will way.

"Buffy" Giles interjects " It really was very serious. You should have let us know you were hurt this badly. If  Faith hadn't brought you back so quickly…"

" Well, Gee, Giles, I didn't really know ya know?" I say, sounding like that frog again.

"Aw, C'mon G-man. You know B. here. Stubborn as a post. Ease up a little. She's fine now" Faith cuts in. But she still has that worried look.

"C'mon Guys, I been worse than this. Now, how about you give a girl a break and let her get her beauty sleep. I could probably use a few treatments" I kid them a little. Gee. Not like I'm gonna die or nothing. Then I see Dawnie's face, and she is all scared and white. Oh, crap. Poor girl. 

" Dawnie, come here" I say to her. She just stands there. "What, you want me to come there?" She has a little frown, but she comes over.

" Here, baby, let me give you a hug" But, that really isn't practical, so I squeeze her arm." I'm Ok, Dawnie. I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be around to nag you about everything"

" B-B-Buffy, you gotta stop doing this. I'm so afraid I'm gonna lose you" She starts to cry.

"Dawnie. Come on." I squeeze her arm again. Damn… no huggyness sucks." Look I promise. Next year, I'll let Faith save the world, and we'll kick back and watch videos, ok?" I tease her

She gets a little smile. " Promise?" I nod " Ok, I forgive you… this time" She squeezes my hand.

Giles says " Maybe we should let her rest now" 

They turn to leave, and all go out. I call out " Faith" More like , croak out, but she hears me anyway.

"Yeah, B?" I gesture for her to come back

"Thanks, Faith. Second time today you saved me" I smile

"ahhh" But she blushes. She leans over, and gives me a little kiss on the forehead. That's nice.

"Get some rest, B. See ya tomorrow" She turns and leaves.

As I drift off to sleep, I'm so glad this day is over. Been long, hard, and now I can rest a little

Hey, never noticed Faith has such soft lips before.

What's that about?

Weird

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TBC

Well, so? Ok, good, bad? Too long, too short? Anyway, more to come if you like it, or it dies a fiery death if ya don't

Let me know.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Inc. Owners. Me… Borrower

Author's note: Ok, I guess I should have warned you. A lot of the first chapters of this story are going to be from Buffy's POV. This is because …well, it's how the story is rolling out of my head. Maybe because she needs the change. So, Faith fans, she is here, but from Buffy's thoughts about her. Patience, patience. Who knows? I might change my mind.

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What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 2

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Buffy:

Well I fooled the doctors and actually got out of the hospital fairly quickly. Must have really upset their days when all the slayers got better faster than expected. See? I got a way to lower medical costs. Just make everyone a slayer… No, probably wouldn't work.

Things had settled down a bit with the others. They had been staying at the old hotel/ offices of Angel Investigations. It wasn't really being used as offices anymore, so there was plenty of room to put up the crowd 'til things could be sorted. A lot of the girls went home with their parents. That was good. Get back to some kind of normal life. I think one apocalypse per slayer is totally adequate.

And yes, Giles did invite me to go to England with him. And Dawn also. Me to help set up a new Watcher's Council; Dawn to finish school, then train for being a Watcher. For some reason, the idea really appeals to her. She needs a life. Away from her sister. And all this nonsense. But, if this is what she really wants, I'm with her on it.

However, I did set some conditions.

" Giles, I really , really need to have some time limit here. After all, I have been doing this since I was 15…almost 8 years now. And I need a life. A non-slayer life, you know? So, no forever here. Ok? I want to come, to help set up a new council. But I also have to set up a new life."

" I see" is all Giles said. He says that a lot, you notice?

" And some things have radically have to change with the Watcher's Council. I mean, no more one slayer, so I don't see why it's necessary that each HAS to serve. I think choice here is important"

" I see" Yup, he's Mr. Conversation 

"Also, more WOMEN need to be on the policy making end. This boys club stuffs gotta stop"

Wanna guess what he said? Yes, you got it

" And the slayers should be encouraged to have a life outside of killing vamps and demons. Remember Kendra? She died young, and never had the chance to have any kind of life. That just sucks"

" Finally, Giles, there has to be some time limit. I don't see why someone has to serve for life now. Not with so many to choose from. Being a slayer shouldn't be a life term. I mean, some will probably want to go on doing it. But again, options, choices…are you getting the theme here?"

" Buffy, what you're saying is actually along the lines of what I was thinking" Ok, color me surprised! " Frankly, the Watcher's Council has too long been too tradition bound. We need to shake things up, really rethink what being a Watcher means, and what being a Slayer means" Whoa. This from the guy whose wardrobe selection is tweed… and tweed. Maybe there is hope yet?

" I thought of one more thing, Giles. Something I won't negotiate on. NO MORE CRUCIAMENTUMS!" No one was going to do that again while I had a say in things.

" No argument here, Buffy. They are archaic and cruel. As far as I'm concerned , they are history" Giles was emphatic. Yay!

Then I went and stepped in deep doo- doo. I agreed to go to England…Arrrgh!

Well, I guess it hasn't been all bad. It certainly has been good for Dawnie. She's like really taken to English schools. Her grades in upper form( kinda like high school in the states) have been great. I mean, really great. She seems to take to the challenge... English schools are much tougher than American schools( good thing I didn't go here, I woulda disgraced the Summer's name). Seems she relishes the challenge. Anyway, surprise, surprise. She applied to Cambridge. I thought, Oh boy…wait for the disappointment. And she was accepted. So cool. So expensive. Ah well. Glad the council is paying for it. She at first wanted to not go; she wanted to go right in to Watcher training. But Giles and I both agreed that this was a once in a lifetime thing for her, and that The Council could wait a few years before getting another Summers.

Maybe that is another reason I feel obligation. But I'm just drowning here. All I see is paper, paper, and more paper. I was kinda jazzed, I admit, when Giles insisted I be deputy chair to the council. I didn't realize what it meant. This is ten times worse than the worst of slaying. At least then, I could slip the chains once in awhile, and have some fun. Here, it's work, then more work, and then, just for giggles, more work.

At least, I did get to see my policies taken seriously. Being a slayer now is an option, not an obligation. No one is forced to be a slayer. And with the increase of female participation in policy, the slayers are finally beginning to see some changes that affect their lives, for the positive. They are of course, required to serve if they so choose. But they are given the option to quit up to the time they complete training. And, they are encouraged to have a life outside of slaying. Friends, family, etc. And it's not a life sentence any longer. The required service is 4 years; two years in the field; two years training other new slayers. And then, you can say "Outta here" and you are outta here. You can re-up. That is your choice. But it's the Slayer's choice, not the councils.

But, sometimes(Ok, most of the time) I just want to escape. Get out. Be free. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss field work(ok, slaying). Yeah, dangerous. Yeah, could get killed. Yeah, slashes, bruises, broken bones…not good. But, I at least felt alive, somehow. A rush. There is nothing like fighting vamps to stimulate you. Faith had it right. Slaying makes you hungry and horny. Both good things. Here, I just see numbers, and reports, and charts, and statistics all day. Trust me. No hungries. No …other stuff.

So here I sit, looking at an old photo, daydreaming about slaying. Is that sick or what? Sigh.

And I wonder what is going on in their lives. Ok, Dawnie I know. She is here with me. But Will? I see her occasionally when she comes over to sit in with the Coven. We get together. I talk about work. Over her head. She talks about Wicca and Computers. Over my head. We talk about other stuff, but not like before. We're not sharing the life anymore. Then it gets awkward, and we say we must get together more often blah, blah , blah. But it doesn't happen.

Kennedy? Well, Kenny and Will split after a year. After that, all I know is from the occasional report I get from wherever she hangs her hat these days, She moves around a lot, going from training center to training center. Sometimes she teaches, sometimes she leads other slayers in forays against the bad guys. All in all, pretty much not too much to tell.

Then there is Faith. Now, that is a big puzzle. I was so hoping somehow we would remain close. But distance and time took their toll. I have written her some. She's replied, fewer times. An occasional phone call, in which we say nearly nothing important. One Christmas card. First year I was here. I sent them something with a card. Next year, I sent some little gift, don't know what…but no card.

I guess I should've expected it. I mean, it's hard having a long distance relationship. But it's particularly …I don't know…hard, because before I left, we were getting close. Getting to a point where we really understood each other. We had been talking a lot. About what we wanted to do. How we saw the future. Our dreams for our lives. Ya know, things friends discuss. And stupid things too… casual stuff. But, it was like making that bond stronger between us. 

I remember the night we said goodbye. When I was leaving for England. We were sitting outside the old Hotel where we had been staying, Angels old place. In the courtyard. It was a pretty night. Full moon. We were sitting next to each other on a bench.

"So, you're really gonna do this B? Go to England?" Faith asked, a bit wistfully

" I think I really have to, Faith" I replied. " I just can't see any choice. If I let Giles take it on alone, I'm afraid he'll be overruled by the other council members. Then, it will just be like what we had to go through, but multiplied 10,000 times. And I just can't let that happen. It's too important to me".

And we sat for awhile, saying nothing. Just enjoying being together. Then Faith spoke again.

" B, what can I do to convince you to stay? I mean, isn't there some way you could stay here and do that?" She said. I sensed a loneliness in her voice.

" Oh, Faith. I really wish I could stay. I'm gonna miss here. And I'm gonna miss you" I said, regretfully. " But I don't see any options. I have to go".

She was quiet for a moment, then sighed. " Yeah, you're right. It's important" she got up, and moved off a bit. I got off and moved to her, touching her arm

"Faith?" 

She turned, and smiled. " It's ok, I'm just going to miss you, B." She said.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Faithy" and I pulled her into a hug. And she hugged me tight. Like she never wanted to let me go. And on some impulse, I gave her a small kiss on the cheek. She smiled at me, and touched my cheek.

" Take care of yourself, B" She said. And for some reason, I noticed like a shutter come down behind her eyes. I sensed I missed something important; lost something, without realizing it. She broke the embrace, and walked to the door of the Hotel.

" Seeya around, B" and then went inside.

And that was really the last time I saw her. She didn't come to the airport to see me off. I guess she had other things to take care of. But I admit, I would have liked to have seen her.

Anyway, a year later, on my recommendation, Giles offered her the L.A. Training center. And she accepted it. But, I never heard from her about it.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

So, I'm sitting here, looking at this picture, and I see the smiles we have. And suddenly, I just need to call her. I need to hear a voice without an English accent. I need to hear someone who isn't arguing with me, or telling me how important what I'm doing is. Someone who I can just be Buffy with, Not Elizabeth Summers.

So, I'm about to buzz Rowan to get me the Faith's number from the files, when my intercom buzzes. Spooky!

"Elizabeth?"

"Who?"

"Ms. Summers?

"I'm sorry?"

"Buffy?" I hear the sigh in her voice. Ok, it's petty, but hey. I get few pleasure in life

"Yes, Rowan?"

" There is a Faith DeMarco on the phone for you"

" What?" Now, that is just beyond spooky

"Faith DeMarco. From the L.A. Training Center?"

" Put her on, Rowan" Ok, now I'm just waiting for the scary music to start.

" B? That you?" Faith opens the conversation with that low throaty voice of hers. God, I swear, when that girl talks, it's like sex. Ok Buffy, where did that come from?

"Faith! Girl, it's good to hear your voice. Hey, wanna hear something spooky?"

"What's that B?"

" I was just about to call you!"

"Aw, c'mon B, your shitting me, right?" Faith laughs

" No, I'm not. I was just about to buzz Rowan…that's the woman who answered the phone…and ask her to get your number from the files to call you. Now, is that weird, or what?" 

Faith whistles that spooky music theme over the phone, and laughs. " I don't think weird covers it"

" Hey, Faith, how are you? I swear, I have missed hearing your voice."

" Gee, B. I didn't know you cared" She mocked me, just a little

" Hey, hey, that's so unfair. You coulda called too, you know" I responded. Ok, maybe a little guiltily.

" Yeah, yeah. Ok, Busted. I've  been bad too. So, B, how the hell are ya?" 

" So, you want the happy version, or the truth?" I said. I don't know why, but I did.

" Truth , B. Always" Faith said.

" I guess I should say, that being deputy chair to the Council is like totally cool. That I love it and all. But, Faith, I hate it. I hate it! I'm drowning in a sea of paperwork, I hate the weather, and I hate being here. I never get out of this damned office, it seems. Only time I get to work out is when I can steal some time. I just wanna scream"

" So, B, have they assigned you your own black cloud to float over your head yet?" 

I start to laugh. For some reason, I can really see that.

" They should. Maybe it would soak some of these reports, and I wouldn't have to look at them" She laughs at that.

" So Faith, tell me , how are things? How are you and Robin doing?"

There is a pause, and then she answers, a little flat in tone. "Oh. Guess you haven't heard. Me and Robin are split."

" Oh, no! I can't believe that! You two seemed so…simpatico" I said. " I thought you two were so right together"

"Well… it was great. Until we started living together. Let me tell ya, it just wasn't a match made in heaven. Maybe more in a hell dimension. We are just too  different, him and me. I know I'm a slob, B. But this guy is an obsessive about neatness. I swear. And …well, ok, party girl here. He is so conservative, I swear. Ya know, we both were kinda street kids, growing up in foster care and such. But we couldn't be more different. It's too bad, really. Cause, boy could he…ummm. Lot's of ummm." She is laughing now. " But, ummm just aint enough"

" Ummm?" I ask

" You  know, sex baby" She laughs a little at me. Ok, color me stupid! And why am I blushing? Maybe cause I aint had none in like…forever?

" So, are you seeing anybody B?" She asks out of the blue. What, can she read my mind, too?

"No" I sigh." Not really"

" Not really? Or no? Which, B?"

" Christ , Faith! Ok, I'm not seeing anyone. Hell, haven't had a date since I came here"

"Wh-aa-at?" She says, a little shocked. " No date in two years? No…ummm?"

" More than 2 years, Faith. I've forgotten what 'ummm' is !"

"That is just… sick, B" Faith sounds sympathetic

" Hey, it's not that bad"

" Do you at least…?" 

" Do I at least what?"

" You know… self … ummm"

" Huh?…self…Oh, god FAITH!" I'm really blushing now

" This isn't healthy B. You must be ready to explode" Now she is back to laughing " We gotta get you a guy, if only to save the world again" She is busting up…and I'm joining her.

" Yeah, I can see the report " Buffy blows. Europe destroyed. Film at 11" I'm laughing my ass off now.

We sit there laughing for like 5 minutes, until I'm cramping up from it. Finally we calm down…only to go off again. Another 5 minutes and we finally are laughed out. But, hey, that's the best I have felt in like forever.

  
" Oh, man Faith, I have so missed you" 

" Hey, I've missed you too, B.  L.A. just aint the same without you here"

" Hey, B? Can I ask you something?" Faith sounds a little hesitant.

" Yeah, ok. Go for it, Faithy" I said, encouraging her.

" Do you think you've done what you wanted there?"

"Huh?"

" I mean, remember what you told me? About wanting to make it better for slayers. Do you think you've done that?"

" Yeah, I think I've gotten that done. The one thing I'm happy about being here" I say, getting intrigued

"Well… ok… so , is anything holding you there?" She asks. Ok, now I'm intrigued for sure

" Well...Dawnie's here in school. Nothing else, really"

" Ummm… ok, but Dawn's away at school, right? Not living with you or anything"

" Yeah…so?"

" So…well…" she is hesitating again

" Spit it out, Faith" I say. " I mean, what can I do to ya 8000 miles away" 

"Well… that's the point , B. I have a proposition for you" Faith begins, but I cut her off

" Oh, are you propositioning me on the phone? Kinky , Faith" I giggle

" B! I'm serious" but she starts to giggle too.

" Ok, ok Ms. No fun. Be serious. What's your proposal?"

" Look who's talking, Ms no sex in 2 years!" she retorts

"Faith" I growl, ok, playfully, " get to it. What is your idea?"

" You know I got the L.A Training Center, right?"

" Yeah, I know. I recommended to Giles that you would be perfect for it"

"Really? He never told me that"

" He didn't? Well, I'm sure it just slipped his mind" Me and Giles are gonna have a little talk, we are.

" Well, before I got it, I was working for Angel, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. What were you doing for him?"

" I ran his covert ops training program. I really liked it, too. Thing is, when I got the L.A. training gig, I felt I should do that. Ya know, old times, being in the biz. So, I have been running both, using assistants. Thing is, it's just getting to be too much, and I'm in a bind. Look, I want to go back to doing the stint at Angel's full time. I like it better. But I don't have anyone I feel is good enough to run the L.A. Training center. So, that's where you come in"

I can't believe what I'm hearing, I think someone up there is finally listening to me.

" How 'bout you come to L.A. and take over the Training center. Then I don't have the guilt of just walking out, and you get out of pushing all that paper around"

" Gee, I don't know, Faith. I mean, I just have such a wonderful job here" voice dripping with sarcasm. She starts to laugh

" Ok, what incentive can I give you to come back to L.A.?" She asks, laughing

"Ummm… Cappuccino at Starbucks?" I say

"Ok, done" She says

" Well, you're easy. I woulda settled for a Burger at In and Out"  I'm laughing too.

" ME easy? Hah. I woulda treated you to Spago's, if you had held out" She says, giggling

" Ok, Done" I counter

"Huh? Wait…" She sputters, but is still giggling

" No way. Think I'm gonna take Starbucks when I can get Spago's?" 

" Ok, ok, but get your ass back here fast before I change my mind and look up Kennedy"

"Hey, you wouldn't" I protest. Then little voice " Would you?"

" Nawww…she gives me a headache" Faith laughs. " Just get back here ASAP."

" Ok, soon as I find a replacement, I'm outta here" I say. 

" I'm sure they can find a paper pusher somewhere there" She mocks

"Hey"

"Hey, yourself. Gotta go. Call me when you know when you're comin, ok?"

" No problem. Expect it soon…real soon"

" I'm looking forward to it. Bye B. Seeya soon"

" Bye , Faith. Thanks for the giggles"

I hang up the phone, and stare at it awhile. Reprieve, at last. For the first time in awhile, I feel a ton of paper lifting off my back.

I'm getting outta here, and back to L.A. soon. Real soon.

I put my feet up on the desk, and buzz my P.A.

"Rowan? Get me Mr. Giles on the phone, please."

Sooner, the better.

  
~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Read, review. Throw stuff. All is good  =)  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I wish to thank Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, inc. for owning and creating such fun characters to play with. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Author's note: Well, here we are at the third chapter. I wish to thank those who have reviewed my work so far, for encouraging me to continue. Hopefully, I will continue to amuse.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 3

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Rupert Giles escorted Buffy to Heathrow to see her off on her flight. 

He was experiencing mixed feelings about Buffy's leaving. Of course, he was happy that she was happy. He had known for a long time that she wasn't really happy doing what she had been doing, but every time he suggested a change, she had turned him down. Her sense of duty was touching, but seeing her miserable wasn't making him happy. He was, therefore, glad to see her accept this assignment in L.A. . He knew she had been longing to get back to that dreadful land of no weather. But then again, it was where she had been born and raised. He could understand the nostalgia.

But, of course, he was going to miss her terribly. For nearly 10 years she had been a significant part of his life. That was going to change now, and it's never a happy time for a parent to see a beloved child leave home. Ok, he knew he wasn't her parent, but he always had strong feelings for his charge and slayer, and he considered her a daughter. The only daughter he was likely to have. She had time and again made him exasperated. Much more often though, she had made him proud. He couldn't have asked for a better child. 

As they sat waiting for her plane to depart, Rupert watched her. He saw an ebullient young woman, one he hadn't seen in a long time. His heart lightened, because he would rather see her happy, even if it meant she would be so far away.

"Well, Buffy, your plane will be here soon. Are you getting excited?" Giles smiles, already knowing the answer.

" Oh, yeah. I'm looking forward to being in L.A. again. I guess I'm just not cut out for England, Giles. Sorry" Buffy smiled, a little sadly.

" I understand, Buffy. I missed England when I was in that land of no weather." Giles replied. " I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated all the work you did here. I know it was trying and stressful for you. I'm glad you have an assignment to which you are looking forward."

" I'm going to miss you, Buffy" Giles said, turning away . He didn't want her to see how much.

" Don't worry, Giles. I have left strict instructions with Dawn to annoy, harass and otherwise make your life miserable, so you won't miss me too much" She smiled. She really was going to miss him, also.

"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of getting you a little something" Giles handed her a small box.

"Giles? For me! Goodie! Presents!" She smiled, and opened the box. Inside was a gold necklace. It had a solid gold stake pendant. She felt her eyes tearing up. " Thank you, Giles, I love it. Could you?" She said, turning around so he could put it on. 

" I wanted to make sure you always had one, just in case" He smiled, securing the clasp.

" I got you a little something too" Buffy said. She handed him a box.

Giles opened it, and was quite taken aback. It was an old fashioned pocket watch, the kind with a cover to protect the face. When he opened it, he saw the inscription.

_To Giles:_

_The man who has been more than a father to me_

_Love always, Buffy_

Giles was quite overcome. Despite his best efforts, he felt a tear on his cheek.

"Thank you, Buffy. I will treasure it always" Giles said, not being able to mask the emotion in his voice.

She ran a finger down his jacket lapel and smiled. " I thought it quite fit you"

At that moment they heard her flight announced over the P.A. They got up, and he helped her with her carry-on bag. After they had reached the gate, and she had presented her ticket, she turned to him. She had tears in her eyes. She took him in a big hug. She planted a small kiss on his cheek.

" I'm going to miss you, Giles. You write me, you call me, and you come visit me. Hear?"

" Of course" He said, gently disengaging her. " Now scoot before you miss your flight"

He watched her walk up the boarding ramp, and realized a good piece of his heart was going with her. He wandered over to the terminal window, and watched her flight depart. As the plane flew away, he said to himself

" Take care, Buffy. Be happy"

A sad little smile played on his face as he walked away.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy was feeling excited and a little scared at the same time.

She was really looking forward to running the L.A. training center. She knew it was going to be a challenge for her. She realized of course, there would be a lot of administrative duties, including…ugh…paperwork. But she had assistants she could delegate that too, and she would be able to take an active role in training. Especially the more advanced students. Of course, there were teachers and Watchers there, to assist in the girl's education, but all in all it would be a definite change from the previous two years. She had been training vigorously for the last month since Faith's call. She felt somewhat ready. But she was well aware there would be things popping up to throw her. She didn't mind. She liked the idea.

She had to admit to herself that she was more than a little scared to be seeing Faith again. It had been two years, and so much had gone on since then. It was almost like they were having to start over, once again. She hoped it wasn't going to be weird. They had a fine conversation on the phone, but seeing her in person was going to be a whole different matter. Then there was the idea of the kind of relationship she hoped they would have. They had been bitter enemies, and then allies against the First. But Buffy wanted more. She wanted a good, solid friendship with her co-slayer. That is something they had never had, and something that Buffy deep in her heart had always wanted.

She had never admitted it to anyone, but when  she and Faith had switched bodies with the help of the mayor's amulet, it had given her a glimpse at the kind of life Faith had led. 

She had never realized how alone Faith had felt. How hunted she had been, and how she had to hide. Hide being a child, hide it all, just to survive. It was a new experience for Buffy; she had never been as alone as Faith had been. She had always had someone to turn to, when she needed. It was scary for her, and she could imagine how bad it had been for Faith. Who had lived it day in and day out for years.

Since that time, she had always wondered what could have been with them. She had tried to think of ways that, if she had ever had another chance with Faith, she could reach out to her, form a bond they had never shared.

And it had made her think of how much she had regretted not reaching out to her before. Letting her know that she had a friend, someone who would stand by her when she needed a friend. She regretted she had never noticed Faith's good impulses, only her bad ones. This had caused Buffy a lot of guilt in the intervening years.

Now she had a chance to make it up with Faith, and she was going to do her best to forge that friendship. She knew both women still had demons from the past to overcome, but she felt real hope about their relationship. For the first time she felt they could grow as close as they should have those many years past.

Buffy settled back in her seat, and turned off the overhead light. She decided to catch some sleep, as it was a long flight ahead. Faith was still on her mind as she closed her eyes. As she drifted off, she fell into a dream.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

In her dream, She and Faith were once again on that rooftop. The rooftop where they had met for their final confrontation. They were fighting, each knowing that only one slayer would be walking away from this battle. Emotions were high on both ends. However, as the battle progressed, it slowed, as if they were battling underwater. And it became more of a dance, than a battle. Suddenly, Buffy found the knife in her hand. Seeing an opening, she lunged at Faith, but missed. She ran up into a wall, and turned, seeing Faith charging at her. But, instead of the knife plunging into Faith, she found herself in Faith's arms. They were in a passionate embrace, their lips hungrily kissing. The kiss deepened, and soon both felt a glow flow between them. And just as suddenly, they were no longer on the rooftop, but in a room. A large, well lit room with sunlight streaming through bay windows. And they were still in an embrace, but they were sharing a post coital kiss. They both were caught in the afterglow of passionate lovemaking. As Buffy drew back, she was horrified. She had blood on her hands, and there was blood on the sheets. She looked at Faith, and she saw her bleeding from a wound in her stomach. All of a sudden, they were back again on the roof. Her hand was clasped to the hasp of the knife, which was plunged into Faith. And she saw Faith's eyes. She saw the surprise, the shock, and the hurt. Then Faith was jumping over the edge of the roof, and Buffy felt her mind screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOO". She ran to try to catch her, but it was already too late…too late…

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

" …too late….too late"

Buffy awoke with a start. She realized she had been talking in her sleep, and was very upset. Her face was sweaty, and her body was shaking. She was full of fear. She had the nightmare again, the one that kept coming back to her. She didn't understand it, but it left her with a haunted feeling. Still shaking, she asked the flight attendant for a drink. As she sat waiting for it to come, she stared out the window. She knew she wouldn't be sleeping anymore on this flight.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Faith had been waiting at the terminal for 90 minutes.

She had gotten here early, not being sure how L.A. traffic would be, and by chance, it was especially light this evening. So she had lots of time to think. And the more she thought, the more nervous she had become.

Faith:

God, I want this to go right. I'm so scared I'm gonna screw this up, and I'm shaking, I'm so nervous. C'mon, Faith. You're not a kid anymore. This isn't like a "first date". It's just two friends getting together. So why is this so damned important to me?

I never told B. how she saved my life. When we switched bodies, for the first time I got a look at how she lived. I admit, I was totally jealous at first. She had a home, a mom, friends. But as I lived in her body, I realized that she had it tough, too. She was always expected to be perfect, to do the right thing. She never got the luxury of saying "Screw it" and walking away. Also, despite friends and family, when it came down to it, she was alone. Just like I was alone. 

So on that freight I caught out of Sunnydale, I did a lot of thinking. Trying to come to terms. I finally realized that I had to atone for what I had done. When the train hit L. A., I got off. I wandered around for a few weeks, trying to decide what to do. Then I ran into Angel, and he made me realize what I had to do. I turned myself in, and faced the punishment for my crimes.

And it helped. Helped to think of her when I was in there. It kept me focused on redemption. It gave me a goal. To someday get out of prison, and meet up with her. To try to make amends, and with luck possibly start over, possibly even be friends. It gave me something to look forward to.

Angel kept in contact. He would bring me books to read, and helped me pass my G.E.D while in prison. Also, he was my source of news about Buffy. It helped to know what she was doing with her life. Helped a lot.

Then came that day. That dark day. When Angel told me she had died. Died fighting a Hell God. To save the world. Again. And that day, I thought I would die too. Alone in my cell, biting my pillow so my sobs wouldn't be heard, I cried my heart out. I had lost my chance. Lost my chance at redemption, at being a part of B's life, in some small way. I was devastated. Those months after her death were bitter. I lost hope. I lost my dream.

Then a few months later, Angel told me B. had come back. That Red had brought her back. It was like I had a second chance. I had gotten a reprieve. I felt hope rekindle in my heart, and I felt like a ton had been lifted from me. I began to look forward again.

Then came the day Wesley broke me out. To help Angel. Who had lost his soul, trying to fight a demon who was part of yet another apocalypse. They tell me I nearly died during the fight we had with Angelus. I remember the dream we shared. How I saw first hand how he had suffered for 80 years this curse of the soul, reliving his past deeds, and fighting the demon within that plagued him. He finally won, his soul restored  by , yes, once again, Red.

And then I got my chance at redemption. I went back with Red to help fight The First Evil. On the way we talked, and I was amazed at the change in Red. Gone was the shy computer geek. Here was a woman who had seen much. And when I learned how she had herself gone dark, and had nearly destroyed the world, I was blown away. Red? Sweet little Red? It was hard to believe. Yet here she was, powerful, yet humbled by what she had been through.

When we got to B's, I was nervous. Understandably so. And then I saw her, and I was again blown away by her. Gone was the little High school girl I had known. She had been replaced by a young woman of  genuine toughness, a new steel to her. Yet, hidden beneath was this overwhelming sadness, and vulnerability. It was awkward at first; our history together dictated that. But as she saw I was genuinely there to help her, to be on the right side of the battle, she accepted me. She really accepted me.

When the potentials voted her out as leader, I saw the hurt in her eyes. How she had done all she could to protect them, and they rejected her. I went out on the porch, trying to explain that I didn't want this to happen. When she turned back to me, I expected her to lash out. And again, she surprised me. She had tears in her eyes, but she only said not to be afraid to lead them, to protect them, but to lead them.. I was so torn at that moment. I wanted nothing more to just hold her, and let her know despite what the others thought, I believed in her. But  she was already gone.

I learned the hard way what she had been doing. How tough it was to lead, and how much it hurt to lose someone in the fight. And yet, when she came back, she didn't gloat. She didn't make me feel like crap. She comforted me, in her way. She told me that we were at war, and in wars, people die. Stupid , needless deaths, but it's a fact.

In the final battle, she got a wound that should have killed her. And she passed the scythe to me, and told me to fight on, to get it done. And when I had killed the Turok-han that killed her, and three others, and looked back. She was back. Back on her feet fighting. And somehow we won. I thought for sure she was gone. We were pulling out on the bus, Sunnydale collapsing around us…and I look up, and she is there, running, running to catch us. And she jumps on the bus, and rides out with us. I can't tell you how happy I was at that moment.

Did I mention how in much awe I hold for this woman? So tiny, smaller than me. And she just keeps going. Keeps saving the world. And no one realizes how much she has saved all of us.

And I'm waiting here, sweating bullets. I'm trying to think what I'm going to say to her. And her flight is announced, and I go looking for her gate, to meet her. And I'm near the luggage carousel. And suddenly I'm nearly knocked over, but this incredibly powerful pair of arms are holding me, and this small blonde woman has me in her hug. She looks at me and says " Do you realize how much I've missed you?" and I reply, " Nearly as much as I've missed you?" and we stand there and just hug for awhile. We finally break the embrace, and we get her bags. Laughing, arms around each other, we leave the airport.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy:

As my flight is landing, I'm getting more and more nervous. I …am finding it hard find the words I want to say to her. I have so much to say, so much I want her to know. And when I get off the plane, I'm nearly shaking. Showtime,  and I feel so unprepared. So, I'm going for my luggage. And as I'm heading down the concourse, I see her by the luggage carousel. And I'm running. I don't know how, but I'm running. And I take her into a big hug, and I must have startled her, because I nearly knock her down. And then, she has this incredible smile on her face. And it's like we've never been apart. I say to her " Do you realize how much I've missed you?" and she replies, " Nearly as much as I've missed you? " and we are just hugging, and laughing. It's like …so comfortable. We retrieve my bags, and arms around each other, laughing, we leave the airport.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC. Read, review. And thanks =)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns em, Mutant Enemy, Inc. sends the monster if you violate them. So, I try to be really nice to them. Ok, sometimes I'm bad.

Author's note: I have to say here that Faith/Buffy is going to happen. Unless I'm a totally mean rotten person. But It's going to develop more slowly than say in my other story. They aren't 17, they aren't all hormones, and they have a history that isn't pleasant. So, be patient. It will come, but for right now let them just get used to being friends. Or I might accelerate it. So, I'm a totally mean rotten person. Hah! Hey…watch that tomato….

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What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 4

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 Faith:

B. is acting a little weird.

Well, ok, sometimes she IS a little weird. But I mean weirder than usual.

I of course expected she would stay with me when she hit L.A., at least until she got her legs under her, and found her own place. I have a nice loft apartment downtown, lots of room, courtesy of Wolfram and Hart(I truly believe they own, in one way or another, half of L.A.) So, I mean it's not like we're gonna be cramped or anything. But she got a little wiggy when I suggested it to her on the drive from the Airport.

" You didn't reserve me a hotel room, Faith? I thought you said you would. Where'm I gonna stay?" Buffy looked a little put out.

"Well, I thought you could stay with me. At least until you found your own place" I said

"I don't want to put you out, Faith" She had this kinda weird look on her face.

" My god, B. I have this huge loft apartment, 5000 square feet.(told ya wolfram and hart own half of L.A.). I have a couple extra bedrooms. I'm sure somewhere, in some corner, I can squeeze in that tiny little body of yours. The luggage? Well, not so sure" I teased her a little.

And then she makes this excuse. And then that excuse. Well, I'm getting a little put out, now. I mean, ok. I shoulda asked. But I assumed(Don't say it) that it would be fun. But she is like trying to find any way she can to wiggle out of it.

" Look, B. if you really want to go to a hotel, I'm sure we can find something. Gee, I didn't realize it would be such a problem staying at my place" Ok, I pouted a little. Sue me.

"No… Faith, it's not that. I … I just got kinda used to living alone , what with Dawn at school and all, and …well… you know, I guess I got used to the privacy." B. got all flustered and apologetic. Well, good. What? Am I  some two headed demon or something?

" Look, B. In my place, you can get lost going from the kitchen to the bathroom. If you 'need' privacy that badly, I will set up a special little place. We'll make a sign, " B's private domain". I'll get Angel to send over a couple of Guardian Demons. You'll have all the privacy you need" Ok, I got a little testy, too. Sue me.

" Ok, ok, I got it. I'm being stupid. You can stop hitting me with the sledgehammer now. It got through" Buffy is really blushing, but laughing a little too.

" Damn right you're being stupid. Look, I promise. I'll keep out of your way, and I'll try to keep my slutty nature down to what? One night a week so the noise won't keep you awake. That suit you, Sister Buffy?" Ok, mean, but she had it coming.

" I'm sorry , Faith. I…said I was being stupid. Ok?" Buffy's voice gets that little girl quality to it. Sigh. I'm to resist that?

"All right, I'll forgive you… this time. Just stop being such a dope" I punch her lightly on the arm. She whimpers

" What? I didn't hit you that hard" I say, looking at her briefly. She is sitting there, sniffing like I hurt her!

" Buffy, what is it?" I say, getting a little concerned. Then she breaks, and giggles. I look and she's laughing at me

"Grrr Summers, I oughta…." And I punch her again, a little harder. But she is just giggling and laughing at me

Damn. She does that every time. She can wrap me right around that finger of hers so I'm not mad at her anymore.

But you gotta admit, that was weird.

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Buffy:

 Ok, I was being a little weird, maybe.

I admit, the dreams I have been having are wigging me a bit. Faith has got this idea that she is the whole problem with our previous relationship, but that just isn't so. I know I did some bad things, too. And I'm having some bad dreams as a result of it. I dream a lot about that night that I stabbed her. I dream of her in the coma. I sometimes dream of her in prison. It kinda weirds me out. So, staying with her kinda made me a bit…I dunno…shiver? Only because having her so close , I'm thinking, would just make it more intense.

Ok, not being totally honest here. Ok, busted. I have other dreams of her, too…occasionally. Dreams you don't put in the nightmare category. But they are weird, nonetheless. I mean…aw, shit, ok, they are erotic dreams, ok? Geeze. Look, I don't know why I have those dreams. I mean I'm totally straight arrow here. I don't…play for the other team, if ya catch my drift. So I admit having these dreams, sometimes, really shakes me up. And… oh, god, if she ever knew. Sometimes, well…ok, I've had a really LONG dry spell…ok?…sometimes I'll wake up from the dreams, and….oh…man…I'm touching myself…and I'm really close…and I continue, while the dream is still in my head. GOD, I feel so ashamed. Using her like that. She would be totally wigged if she knew. I mean, I know she has bragged being a switch hitter, but… if she knew I …oh GOD.

And then… well… there is the pressure I been under, and the nightmares, and stuff, and sometimes I need a little help getting to sleep. So , I have a prescription…and I know if she sees that, she will freak. So, I guess I will have to hide it , and take the pills when I need them in the bathroom.

Ok, so you see. It's not like it's gonna be all comfy cozy, right? But, she like is getting all upset…so I give in. Of course, I have to tease her a little back now, to kinda get her to forget it, so she won't get suspicious. Sigh, I swear sometimes. Life is hard.

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They have reached Faith's loft, and are sitting around, deciding what to do about dinner.

"Ok, B, so what? You had the 8 hour flight. What's it gonna be? Eat in, eat out?"

"Eat in, I guess. Though, actually, I had an idea"

"What? Blonde with an idea? Wait, I gotta call the TV stations. This is NEWS, baby!"

"Hey, knock it off" Buffy punches Faith. " Anyway, I thought we could have a…ok, this is silly, but hey…a slumber party"

" A what, B?" Faith is a little confused

" Slumber party?" Faith is looking at Buffy like she grew a second head. Buffy goes on. " You've never been to a slumber party?" It hits Buffy. Oh… yeah.

" Oh… right…sorry" Buffy says. "Well, then you gotta have one"

" I gotta?" Faith mocks Buffy

" Look, it's fun. You know what fun is, right?" Buffy mocks Faith right back

" Ok, Blondie. Spill it. What is this " Fun" activity consist of?"

" Well, ok. We rent some really cheesy movies. We make popcorn, and other disgustingly fattening stuff. We …well… we're old enough now, we don't have to steal the booze anymore….we get in our sleepwear…

" Ummm…Buffy?" Faith interrupts her

" What?" Buffy asks, a little annoyed

" I don't wear anything when I sleep"

Well, thank YOU, Faith, for that visual. Buffy wonders how many shades of red she turned, because Faith is laughing at her.

"Ok, put on some sweats, then. Geeze. Anyway, we lay out a blanket in front of the TV, we talk about junk, and watch the cheesy movies, and drink ourselves stupid. Well…you know, at least get a buzz. Anyway. When the really cheesy parts of the movie come on, we make fun of them and throw stuff at the screen. So, whatta ya think?"

" Sounds… messy" Faith replies. Maybe a little dubiously, but intrigued, too.

" C'mon Ms. Mom, Live a little. It's fun! Will and I used to have a blast" Buffy coaxes her.

"Will?… Oh, Red. I thought for a second you had a boy over. Now, that coulda been fun" Faith teases her

"God, don't be a party poop, Faith. Try it, you'll like it!"

"Ya…well….so what kind of movies are you talking about?"

Buffy can't resist. She stepped right into that one

" Pornos" Buffy deadpans

"Huh?" Faith kinda stares, turning a few shades of red herself.

" Gotcha!" Buffy squeals. " Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha!"

Faith makes a noise

" Ok, I'm talking about really cheesy love stories, like…ummm…" Love Story" or…" The Way we were" that kinda crap. Or really stupid horror stories…you know, like " Night of 1000 zombies" Or " Attack of the 50 foot woman" …or.." Buffy is interrupted by Faith

"Attack of the 50 foot woman?" Faith asks.

" Yeah…it's about this woman who gets radiation something or other, and grows to 50 feet tall, and is in this really cheesy nightgown, and like attacks buildings and things"

" Yeah, well" Faith has a mischievous gleam in her eye, "She is probably looking for that 5 foot dildo she lost"

"WH-AA-AAT?" Buffy's jaw drops.

" Well, If I were some 50 foot woman, and there wasn't some 50 foot guy around to take care of bizness, I would be pretty pissed off too, looking for something to make do" Faith is laughing. Buffy cracks up.

"Where is it? WHERE IS IT? I needs my toy NOW, I'm so horny" Buffy quips

They are both laughing hard now. 

"Right, right, so they call in Star Trek to save the day" Faith is giggling

" Yeah, I can see it …'Kirk… "What does she want?' Chekov ' She wants a 5 foot vibrator, captain' Kirk looks at Bones. Bones ' Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a sex toy engineer'"  Buffy can barely get it out.

They are both on the floor, rolling with laughter now. They finally settle down, and stare at ceiling. Buffy breaks the silence.

"So...what? Wanna do it?" 

" Do it?" Faith feigns ignorance

" Ya…the slumber party" Buffy goes on. 

"Oh…that  'IT'" Faith giggles.

"Yeah… that 'IT'" Buffy huffs a little "What did you…OH MY" Buffy blushes red

" Gotcha!" Faith laughs at her discomfort.

"Grrr" Buffy growls at Faith "Yes or no on the slumber party?" She sounds a little upset.

Faith is a little taken aback. Why is she getting so …edgy?

"Yeah… ok on the slumber party. Sounds like fun" What's eating her? Hmmm…maybe nothing. That's the problem. God, we got to get her a date. This girl must be right on the edge.

" Look, why don't you rent the movies, B., since you're the expert. There's a little video store on the corner. I'll find something around her to make. I know I have popcorn. I'm sure I have some totally junk food around here too."

" Yeah, 'K" Buffy says, and she nearly runs out of the apartment.

Faith just shakes her head, and thinks "Weird". Anyway, she makes popcorn, and smores, and finds something to drink, suitably alcoholic…and by that time, Buffy is back, all smiles.

"So?" Faith asks.

Buffy pulls out some tapes. "Love Story"… " Count Blackula"…and waggles the third " Attack of the 50 foot woman" They both start cracking up again.

So, they get on the 'required' sleepwear, settle down on a blanket in front of the TV, pig out a little on junk food, and watch the tape. They both throw popcorn when Ali MacGraw says " Love means never having to say you're sorry". However, it doesn't continue much into the second movie, because the plane flight, lack of sleep, and all the rest combine to knock out Buffy. She slowly drops off, and is leaning on Faith, softly snoring.  Faith has a little smile on her face, and thinks " Poor thing, had a hell of a day I guess". She gently extracts herself, and turns off the TV. She looks around, and says " Whatta mess" but admits to herself it was kinda fun. She gently takes the blonde slayer in her arms and lifts her, carrying her to her bed. Buffy shifts in her arms, and throws her arms around Faith's neck. Faith lifts her a bit higher, and Buffy's face is nuzzled into the crook of Faith's neck.  As she carries her upstairs, Faith feels Buffy's breath, warm on her neck, and gets little tingles. She puts Buffy in the bed, and covers her up. She gives her a little kiss on the cheek. Buffy sighs, and snuggles deep in the covers. Faith is kinda touched. Buffy looks so … innocent when she sleeps. Like a young girl again. She smiles, and heads for her own room. As she undresses for bed, she muses over the day, and can only come up with one word.

"Weird"

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Buffy wakes up in bed, and wonders how she got here. She remembers they were watching " Count Blackula" then she gets fuzzy. Musta dropped off. But how did I get up here? Then she remembers a pair of arms lifting her, and carrying her upstairs. Faith! She musta carried me up. Buffy blushes a little, a bit embarrassed. God, I haven't been carried to bed since I was a kid. She drowses a bit, enjoying the feeling of the warm bed. She then gets outta bed, yawns and makes for the  closet. She opens her suitcase, finds her robe, a clean change of underwear, and her toiletries. She heads for the landing, and sees Faith in the kitchen.

"Heya, Sleepy. Time to get up, eh?" Faith teases her.

"Aw, c'mon mom. Five more minutes, 'K" Buffy chuckles and heads downstairs.

" So, where's the bathroom?" Buffy asks, looking around

" Over there" Faith gestures vaguely towards a set of doors.

Buffy walks over, and tries the first door "Faith, it's locked" Buffy whines

Faith looks over, and says " No, not that one…the next one"

"Oh…'K" She starts to move, then asks " So, what's in this one?"

"Nothing Buffy. It's… kinda private, ok?" Faith says, changing the subject. " So, what? Eggs, cereal or fruit?"

Buffy thinks "Hmmm…secrets" She gets a little smile on her face. Her curiosity is piqued.

"Fresh fruit ?" Buffy asks, thinking how she can peek into this room.

"Yeah"

"Cool, I'd die for fresh fruit" She says. England in winter is not the fruit capital of the world.

" No, Buffy…the OTHER door" Faith says again, a bit sternly

Damn…wonder what it's? Better go before she comes over. Buffy heads into the bathroom to shower and clean up.

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The Slayers decide to goof off today. They can go to the training center tomorrow, it'll still be there. They decide to do a little shopping, maybe get lunch; in short, get Buffy reacquainted a bit with L.A. and give her a day off before starting work,

They are window shopping on the top level of the Mall. They are carrying a few purchases they have made. Faith wanders over to the railing, and looks down. 

"Hey, B, come here. Get a look at this" Faith is staring down at something

Curious, Buffy comes over and looks down. She sees two kids, must be all of 15 maybe(God, were we ever that young?). The girl, rather cute , is sitting on the bench. The boy is like bringing her something. You can tell, he has it bad for the girl.

"God, he has it bad. He is like Puppy dog slave to her. Until she dumps him, that is" Buffy is giggling. She notices Faith is quiet. She looks over.

Faith has a wistful look on her face, like she wishes she could be that little girl getting the attention. Buffy's heart melts. God, she never had any of that. That is sooo unfair. Slowly an idea and smile comes to her face. Well, I can't exactly make her 14 again, but I can give her some kid stuff to do.

" Faithy, I got an idea…give me the car keys" Buffy wheedles Faith

" What? You drive? You're kidding, right?" Faith teases her

"Hey, I'm not that bad." Buffy huffs. "C'mon, hand them over"

"What is going on in that mind of yours, B?" Faith asks. She is kinda doubtful about Buffy, driving , and plans.

"It's a surprise. C'mon, PLEASE???" Buffy pulls out the puppy eyes. No one can resist…the puppy eyes.

Faith sighs, and hands over the keys. She has a BAAD feeling about this.

Buffy grabs her hand, and leads her off.

"Where we going? C'mon Buffy, tell me" Faith pleads, but Buffy just smiles and pulls her along.

They are heading down the freeway, top down(gotta love L.A. only place I know of where you can ride with the top down in winter). The wind is blowing their hair. Buffy is driving, fast, and has a grin on her face and the tunes cranked. Faith, on the other hand, is looking at her friend like she has gone insane. She sighs, and sits back. I only hope they have visiting hours at the funny farm, Faith thinks to herself.

Finally, they are turning off the freeway. Buffy cruises around then turns into the parking lot.

Disneyland

"What the hell, B? Have you gone nuts?" Faith whispers

"Hey…We beat the First. We saved the world. We're going to Disneyland … just a few years late" Buffy grins at Faith.

"B, I think England made you go bonkers. What are we doing here?" Faith is getting a bit worried now.

"Faith, it's the happiest place on earth. Smile for me , sweetie" Buffy turns on the smile. Faith smirks a little

"Ok, I'll accept that" . Buffy pays parking, finds a place to park. She drags Faith to the ticket booth. She buys 2 passports, and drags Faith into the park.

This is the first time Faith has been to Disneyland, and her eyes go a little wide. Her smirk turns to a small grin as she tries to absorb the sheer gaudiness of the place. Buffy notes the change, and smiles a little to herself. Well, it's better than the smirk, at least.

Faith is all cynical at first, and Buffy has to drag her from here to there. But slowly, the magic begins to work on her, and soon she is a willing participant, going here and there, giggling and having what seems to be a good time. Buffy buys both of them a pair of mouse ears, one with "Faith" and one with " Buffy". She insists Faith wear them, and of course Faith rolls her eyes. But she gamely puts them on, and grins. Buffy takes out the disposable camera she bought, holds it out and takes a picture of her and Faith with the ears on.

Buffy of course insists that Faith ride the rides, and they hit everything they can. They only wish they had popcorn to throw at the figures in " It's a Small World". Faith wanted to get some, and go again, but Buffy said no way. That tune gets stuck in your head forever if you do it twice in a day.

They of course do the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Big Thunder and Pirates of the Caribbean. They lunch on hotdogs in Tomorrowland, and had dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant in the middle of Pirates of the Caribbean.  

They topped off the evening by watching the Fantasmic show in Frontierland. Buffy was watching Faith, more than the show. She liked what she was seeing. Faith smirk was long gone. It had been replaced by a big grin, and a sense of wonder. She knew of course one day at Disneyland couldn't start to make up for the crappy life that Faith had endured, but she was happy that Faith had been able to find the kid inside herself.

On impulse, Buffy put her arm around Faith, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, Faith turned to her, her eyes wide and bright, and smiled a huge smile at Buffy. Buffy returned the smile, and they turned back to the show.

Faith had thought B. had finally lost it when they came here. She had been cynical, and thought what a waste of time.

She no longer thought that. She probably had one of the best days of her life.

She didn't know how the blonde slayer did it, but she again showed her something to just blow her away.

Right now, she didn't really care.

She just enjoyed the show.

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TBC

So, Faith and the Mouse, huh? Whatta hoot .  Thanks for reading, and review if you will =)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: For those of you that have been living in a cave in Tibet, or belong to a religious order that bans any communication with the outside world, Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. hold sole ownership to the characters depicted within. I just write the story.

Author's Note : So, things seem to be going peachy between the slayers. Their friendship seems to be progressing on a steady track. Did you really think that there would be no wrenches thrown in the works? 

I'm bad. I'm so bad.

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What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 5

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Faith lay awake, staring at the ceiling.

It was going to be another sleepless night.

She sighed, and got out of bed, She found her robe, and then rummaged through her drawer for a small package she kept there. She quietly as possible made her way downstairs. She didn't want to disturb Buffy.

She walked out on the balcony, and took out the package of cigarettes. She knew Buffy hated her smoking, but there were times when she needed one. She took out a cigarette, lit it, and leaned over the balcony, thinking.

Faith had a secret. A secret she couldn't share with Buffy. 

About two years ago, right after Buffy left for England, Angel had approached Faith with an idea. They both knew that Giles and Buffy were going to revive the Watcher's Council, and create a new organization of Slayers to fight evil in the world. But, somehow, the forces of Darkness always had a clue as to what the Watchers were doing, and it gave them a bit of an edge. It had been luck, and the also the sheer determination of Buffy and Faith, the potentials, and the Scoobies, that had managed to beat back the First.

Angel wanted to do more. What if he and Faith created a program. One financed by Wolfram and Hart. A 'secret slayer' program. It could be hidden within Special/ Covert ops. The idea was to recruit some of the new slayers, those that would otherwise go to The Council, and train them separately. They would be totally covert, their expenses folded into Wolfram and Hart's Operations budget. In short, a black op. They would be trained so, if something big came down, and the normal Slayers were having problems, this  cadre of Secret Slayers would join the battle, throwing a wrench in the plans of the dark side. A small surprise that might favorably effect the balance, and allow the Good guys to take the day.

The irony wasn't lost on either of them. Here was the biggest baddest mojo for the dark side unwittingly financing a project that would fight against them. That alone had appeal. Also, the idea of training a group of slayers, her way, appealed to Faith. The idea of a small army of "Dark Slayers" as she liked to think of them(herself often referred to as the Dark Slayer) was exciting. She agreed to the plan, and they together, secretly, had put it into effect.

They had found a small Wolfram and Hart property, and old warehouse designated as storage, and converted it. The budget had been fudged to defer the monies to other places. On the outside, it looked like any of a thousand other warehouses. The inside was  a whole different story. They had a training room, classroom and dorm rooms for the slayers. It was small…only about 35 girls could be accommodated at any one time.

Secrecy and loyalty were paramount. All girls considered for the program had to undergo strict psychological and personality profiling. Anyone not fitting the profile was thanked for their time, and then a trusted mystic would be used to wipe their memory of the experience. They were returned home, with the cover story that they had failed to qualify for the 'special' academy that had been the cover story, and their lives went on as normal. Those who did pass the profiles were expected to work hard. They had to train in secret, and they had to keep up the appearance of a 'normal' life. No one must suspect what they were a part of. As far as the world was concerned they were attending a special school for gifted students. Otherwise, they were normal teenage girls with the normal priorities.

They had, at first, considered expanding the operation. But Faith convinced Angel it would be better if she could train these girls hands on. Letting it grow only increased the chances of the secret getting out. After consideration, Angel had agreed. It would mean a smaller group, but a tighter group.

They had so far trained about 150 "secret slayers". After graduation, they were to return to their 'normal' lives, and be ready when they were called. To all outward appearances, they had only attended a special school that boosted their academic skills. After training, the mystic used to wipe the wash-outs memory, was used to 'boost' the mental abilities of the graduates enough so that they appeared to have been in an actual academic environment. So far, it was going well. The secret was kept, and the ranks of 'secret slayers' were growing.

It all seemed to be going well. Everything was working efficiently. So, why was Faith feeling troubled?

Something was wrong. Something had changed. She couldn't put her finger on it, but things were changing subtly, and it was nagging at her.

It had started back with the "miraculous" cure of Cordelia Chase. After spending nearly a year in a coma, they had found a way to bring her back to life. Well...consciousness, anyway. Cordy Chase was back , and was a big part of Angel's life now. It was obvious to anyone that had eyes they had strong feelings for each other. They didn't act on them. At least, not yet, because of the clause in Angel's curse. But that was being worked on; a team from mystical prophecies, spells and curses were working day and night to find a way to 'anchor' Angel's soul. So, I should be happy for them, right? Mr. Broody gets happy.

But she wasn't. First of all, there was Buffy. It was pretty clear that Buffy still carried a big torch for Fang boy. I mean, look at her relationship history(ok, I wasn't there. I'm going on hearsay here, but I had a good source(thanks, Red)). Buffy and Riley. That went…nowhere, fast. Buffy and Spike(Faith shudders. What is it about the blonde and dead boys, anyway?). That started off as a screwfest, and grew into more. But, then Spike died. And came back. And was made "solid" again. And Buffy returned, ready to try to have a relationship. Well, that spark fizzled in like 3 seconds. Both realized that they were just SO wrong for each other(Yay, Buffy!…ok, I'm prejudiced. I don't think the living and undead should have  love relationships.). Getting a theme here? Buffy + other people= disastrous relationships. She just won't get it that that ship has docked, the passengers have departed, and it has sailed away. She acts like she is all over Angel, but anytime they come into contact, you can see that torch burning in her eyes. And somewhat, in his eyes.

God, on top of everything else, I'm gonna have to find someone for Blondie. Does it get any better? Faith sighs.

Never mind that  I ….no, lets not go there, Faith, shall we? That is a ship that aint happening.

The other thing bothering Faith was Cordelia herself. Granted, she hadn't known Cordy all that well. The only time she had met her was when she would come to visit her in Prison, when Angel couldn't. But, being in prison makes any visitor you have more special, and you concentrate on getting to know them. And, much as the 'restored' Cordy was like the old Cordy, some things…just didn't ring true. 

Ok, it's probably my imagination, and I can't like point at something and go " AHA! That's so not right, YOU'RE NOT CORDY!!!" there are just things that aren't right. Like, the new introspective Cordy. Ok , so working with Angel had changed her. She was no longer the shallow, clothes conscious, attention sucking queen she had been in High School.  I could tell that from the visits. But, this isn't her, either. She is nearly as broody as Fang. So not Cordelia

And then there were her eyes. Faith is a big believer in how the eyes reflect the soul. And she doesn't see the Cordelia she thought she knew in these eyes.

I mean, I look at her eyes, and I don't see any …I don't know…feeling? … there. She will have the same big smile Cordelia would get when she is happy on her face, but not in her eyes. Also, to me at least, when I would look in Cordy's eyes, I would see her emotions and feelings…genuine. Now, I just see her watching…see how she should act.

Ok, Faithy, now you're getting Outer Limits weird. This is just so totally off base, I'm sure. Cordy is Cordy, Fang boy is happy (though, something's not quite right there, either…STOP IT. Don't start down that road). It's just my own paranoid fantasies.

So why can't I shake this feeling?

Faith sighs, and looks out over the city, thinking

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy is having another nightmare:

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

In this dream, Buffy is on top of a wall, looking down. She is at a prison, and sees Faith in the prison yard. She is surrounded by a bunch of other prisoners, looking like they're ready to jump her. Faith looks up and her, her face a mask of supplication.

"B. Help me . PLEASE." Faith calls out to Buffy

Buffy jumps down from the wall, and runs to Faith's side. The prisoners get closer, and Buffy asks Faith:

" What's going on? What happened?"

She hears a laugh. Faith's laugh. It chills her. 

She turns to Faith, and Faith is sneering at her. She is holding the knife Buffy used to stab her

" God, B. You really are a Dope, aren't ya?  ' Buffy. Help me. PLEASE' God, you're easy. At least, that is what Angel always told me", Faith laughs at Buffy when she sees how her words cut her. " I guess it' true, Blondes are dumb. I don't need your help, B. I really just want to torture you a little, then kill you. Ya know, maybe a little payback for ruining my life? Making me sit in this hellhole of a prison to 'atone' for YOUR sins. Yeah…your sins, Buffy. You're the reason I'm stuck here. Did you try to reach out to me, Oh Ms. Perfect Slayer? Did you ever once make me feel like anything that some piece of crap you picked up on your shoe? When we killed…yes, WE, Buffy, … killed Alan Finch, did you stand BY me Buffy? Or did you throw me to the wolves, so you could save your own ass? And I just thought it was so sweet you were so willing to give my life to save your undead boyfriend. I can't tell you how touched I was when  this knife( she shows Buffy the knife) went home, all so you could let the bloodsucker have me. You fucking Bitch. I even helped you after you stabbed me, told you how to defeat Wilkins. And how do you repay me? Do you once come to see me? Did you ONCE care? No. As far as you were concerned, I was nothing but bad news, a body rotting away in a coma somewhere. And when I came back, and switched bodies with you, did you learn anything? NO. You just drove me away, again. And now I'm in this craphole, and do you once, ONCE , come by to at least visit me? To say maybe you feel bad how things turned out. I don't even expect any kind of remorse on your part, but do you even  throw me a scrap? NO. So, Ms. Always Perfect , I'm getting my payback. Payback for how you used me, and threw me away." Faith comes up to Buffy, and caresses her face with the blade of the knife." Don't worry, baby, I'm not going to kill you…yet. That would be too easy. Too much mercy for you. No, it's gonna be nice and slow. I'm gonna make you hurt, B, like you made me hurt. Bit by bit, piece by little piece, until you're begging me to kill you…" at this, Faith puts a small cut on Buffy's cheek. " When I'm done with you, you're poor dead mother won't know you. By the way, she sends her regards, B. She hates you too, I thought you should know. You killed her,  don't ya know? Your antics, the worry, caused that brain tumor. You're such a total bitch."

At that, Faith backs off… but stabs Buffy in the thigh with the knife. Buffy grits her teeth, but doesn't make a sound " Oh? Didn't that hurt? How about this?" Faith twists the knife in her thigh, and Buffy screams. She sees over Faith's shoulder…Angel, Spike, her mother. They are pointing and laughing at her.

" No…Please, Faith…NOOOO … I didn't mean to…I 'm Sorry….sorry…"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

  
  
" B…wake up…B…you're dreaming…Wake up!"

"sorry…sorry"

Buffy bolts up in bed with a start, and sees Faith. She backs away, scared.

" NO…don't get near me. Don't HURT me…Leave me alone" She yells at Faith. She pushes Faith back, and runs into a corner, defensive

"B… it's a dream…that's all. I'm here…let me …"

"NOOOOOOO!!" Buffy screams, ready to fight.

Faith runs over, avoiding Buffy's attempts to hit her. She grabs Buffy, and holds her tight. She struggles to hold onto the girl, all the time trying to calm her " Wake up, B. It's ok. It's me…it's a dream, that's all… a dream"

Buffy slowly stops struggling. Faith caresses her hair , and talks soothingly too her. Buffy slumps in her arms, exhausted.

Faith takes Buffy back to the bed. Buffy sits on the edge, staring out. She starts to tremble. Just a little at first, then more and more until her body is shaking . Faith holds her, trying to soothe her. Buffy is crying, sobbing out " I'm sorry, I'm sooo sorry Faith… I'm sorry"

Faith continues to hold her until she has calmed down. " B, I'm going to get you some water. I'll be right back" Faith disengages herself from Buffy, and starts toward the door. She almost falls when she trips over Buffy's purse. 'What the hell?…Geeze, B. I'm a slob, but can't you keep your purse out of the way?" Faith bends down to scoop up the contents, now on the floor. She sees a pill bottle, and looks at it. Prescription. For Elizabeth Summers. Take 1 tablet daily in the morning. She looks at the drug, and looks Back at B. Pills? B? What is going on here? Faith quickly shoves it back into Buffy's purse, along with the rest of the contents, and places it out of the way. She heads out of the door, and down to the kitchen to get the water.

She returns to Buffy's room, and sees the slayer has lain back in bed. She is curled into a fetal position, and is restless. Setting the water down on the nightstand, she goes over and sits next to Buffy on the bed. She starts to caress her hair, and holds her hand. This seems to calm the blonde slayer down, who soon falls into sleep.

Faith looks down on Buffy, her face worried. 

"What's going on here, B?"

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

I'm so bad . Read and review.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns them. Mutant Enemy has the enforcer monster to get me if I screw up. So, I'm putting up crosses and stakes and stuff just in case.

Author's note: So B's dark little secret sees some daylight. What will Faith do? Will Cordelia be evil? Will Fang go bad? And will Spike finally join the 21st century and stop bleaching his hair? Stay tuned for the next installment of " Passions"… Ooops…wrong story. Read on and enjoy.

Oh, and if somewhere, sometime in the story someone gets the nickname "dimples"….you have rma() to blame.

Ok, one other note. Mental illness is nothing to  joke about. I hope my previous remarks have in no way offended. I hope in the story, though I'm not going to try to make it central, I can treat it with the sensitivity it deserves. It's fiction, and I'm not the world's best writer. But I will do my best not to treat it lightly.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 6

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

" What's going on here, B?"

Faith looks at the sleeping slayer, and is distressed. She can't figure out what is happening to her friend…and it worries her. She has never seen this part of Buffy before. Maybe it was just a bad dream, but usually people don't jump out of bed, frightened of you then try to fight you. It was like, she was there, but not there. And those pills. What exactly is Paxil? 

Faith sighs. Looks like a no sleep night. Have to try to find out what these pills are for. 

"If I ask her, she'll just laugh it off…or say nothing. I know it's not 'nothing'.

Faith leaves the room, and goes downstairs. She gets out her laptop, and connects up her modem to access the net. She needs to do some research. Now.

She spends the next few hours reading about the drug, what it's used for, and dosage. Then she looks at the diseases it treats, and finds the one she thinks fits. She reads about it, and it seems to fit what she saw. A frown is on her face.

She gets up, and walks to the window. She watches the sun rising, her mind trying to deal with what she thinks is Buffy's problem. It's hard for her. Buffy is so strong… always so strong. She never lets on things are bothering her. How could this happen? Why didn't we see it? Faith just shakes her head. It's just too hard to wrap her mind around, right now. She needed sleep to deal with it.

" I can't push B on this. I'll have to wait 'til she is ready to tell me" Faith thinks. 

Noting the sun is coming up, and  Buffy will probably be up soon, Faith moves to the kitchen, to make some breakfast. " I'll make some excuse to get a nap after" Faith thinks. She leaves the laptop on the table, forgotten.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy opens her eyes, and groans. Damn… another dream. She sits up, replaying it in her head. It isn't clear now, but pieces come back to her. She looks around, a little guiltily. I hope I didn't yell in my sleep. That would freak Faith.

She gets out of bed, grabs her robe and toiletries. She stops by her purse to get her prescription, and notes that things are a bit jumbled up. But she just figures what  Disneyland yesterday and all, she just kinda got a little sloppy putting things back. She finds the prescription bottle, takes out a pill, and looks at it a second. She wonders who freaked Faith would be if she knew she … never mind, lets not go there, shall we, Buff? Let's just get through this, and I'll find a place of my own ASAP.

She goes out and finds Faith working in the kitchen. She grins to herself… Faith'll make someone a great wife one of these days. She shakes her head, cause she never figured Faith to be so… domestic. She has to chuckle a little. She trots down the stairs, and notes the laptop on the coffee table.

She wanders over to it, and makes a little noise to herself.

" God, Are we chained to these things here, too? Damn, was hopin' to get away from them" She lifts the lid.

"Huh? Whatta ya mean, B?" Faith looks over, and suddenly realizes OH SHIT!!!

" These. Laptops. I thought I left them behind in England. So, what ya lookin' at?" Buffy teases her a little.

"B!! Don't look at that" Faith starts over to block B, but it's too late. B hit the spacebar to bring up the screen.

" Awww…c'mon, what? Is it some hunky guy? We're adults here…I hope he's…." And then Buffy freezes when she sees the screen.

The words " Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" are across the top of the  web page, with an explanation of the disease below.

Faith stands, looking stricken. Buffy turns to her, her neck and cheeks flushed. " You were snooping?" Buffy asks, her voice quiet, but with a hard edge.

"No…B…I…." Faith stutters

"What is this about then? You went through my purse? Is that it ?…you found these?" Buffy pulls out the prescription bottle.

  
"No…B…you were having a nightmare, You were yelling. I came in to see what was wrong. I tried to wake you, but you jumped outta bed, and ran to a corner. When I tried to approach you, you started to fight with me. I got you finally calmed down. I was going to get you some water, and I kicked your purse. Stuff flew out, including those" Faith explains. " I…I was worried, so  I …looked them up on the 'net. I… I … didn't mean to snoop."

Buffy is no longer mad. The fight has gone out of her, she stands, slumped. She is staring at the laptop screen. " I … had an episode? Last night? I never remember…" She says quietly, trailing off. She more falls onto the couch than sits, she crosses her arms and curls up.

Faith comes over to Buffy, and kneels in front of her. She can see she is distressed.

"B? It's ok… nothing to be ashamed of" Faith takes her hand.

Buffy doesn't look at her. She starts to talk.

" It started soon after I arrived in England. People say I was talking to myself, though I can't remember it. I guess I was talking to The First. I don't know… all I know is that , according to others, it got worse, and worse. People were afraid to approach me… and then…they tell me I went over the top. I grabbed some weapon, started swinging it around. Yelling how I was gonna kill Turok Han…yelling I would get it…the First. That it had to die. I guess I got pretty bad, they say I trashed an entire conference room. I don't remember. Next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital room, in restraints." She smiles ruefully, "They apologized, saying it was for my protection and the protection of the Staff. I can only imagine…" and she trails off again.

Faith looks at Buffy, her heart breaking for her friend. She knows how hard this must be for her.

" Why didn't anyone know? I never heard about this" Faith asks

"God, Faith. Do you think I wanted anyone to know? Bad enough, Dawn and Giles. I made them keep it a secret. I spent 6 months in intensive therapy, to try to get over it. Mostly, it's under control. The pills are to help with anxiety attacks. Unfortunately, one of the side effects is nightmares. Which I remember having last night. But not the episode." 

Faith just looks at Buffy, not wanting to interrupt her.

"That's why I didn't want to come here, Faith" Buffy continues, " I…I was afraid I would have another episode. They don't happen often, but sometimes…" she trails off for a second… then resumes " I was afraid… I would hurt you. Again. Like I have so many times before" Buffy's voice begins to crack, and tears are spilling over. " I…I couldn't…wouldn't…want to…Oh God, Faith… If I hurt you again, I would just want to die" Buffy loses it, crying and shaking.

Faith takes Buffy in her arms, and tries to soothe her. She rubs her back. She gently kisses her forehead.

"Shhh…shhh…baby, it's ok…you're not gonna hurt me, B. I'm fine…it's ok" She rocks her gently, and kisses her forehead again.

Buffy looks up at her, and looks up and down her face, searching her face. Then, totally out of the blue, she leans in and kisses Faith.

Faith's eyes go wide…and she pulls back. She is…surprised doesn't cover it. It's totally unexpected.

But not totally unwanted.

Buffy's eyes go wide…and she covers her mouth, making a moaning noise like " oh, nooooo" then jumps off the sofa, and runs to the bathroom. Faith runs after her, calling after her, but she locks the door.

"B?…B!…Buffy…It's Ok… It's Ok." But Buffy doesn't answer.

Faith tries the handle. Locked. She doesn't want to break it… her friend is wigged enough.

She sighs, and goes back to the couch to retrieve Buffy's toiletries…she heads back to the bathroom, and knocks on the door.

"B? B… I have your stuff here…I promise, I won't try anything… just open the door so I can give them to you."

Faith hears the lock click, and the door opens…just enough so a hand can come out, and snatch the stuff. A brief" Thank you" floats through, and then the door slams closed, and is locked again. Faith stands staring at the door awhile, and hears the shower go on…she sighs, walks away toward the kitchen.

She touches her lips…she can still feel Buffy's lips on her mouth.

"Oh, boy" she sighs

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

A little later, Faith hears the bathroom door open. 

" Buffy, we need to …." But doesn't finish, because Buffy sprints across the room, up the stairs, to her room, where the door closes.

Faith looks up the stairs, and feels suddenly very, very tired. She sighs, and says to herself " Patience, Faith. She is wigged. She's had a hard morning…just be patient." Faith sits on the couch, and her eyes start to close. She's exhausted. " I'll just close my eyes for a second" and she drops off.

She wakes with a start when she hears Buffy on the stairs. She looks up, and sees Buffy descending, carrying her suitcases. 

What the hell?  
  


"B…wait" Faith is a bit sluggish, it takes her a second to get up. Buffy by this time is heading towards the front door. 

"Buffy…WAIT!" Buffy sighs, and stops, waiting.

Faith goes over to Buffy, and finds herself talking to Buffy's back.

"Ok, B…where do you think you're going?" Faith asks, a little irritated.

" Faith, look. I don't think my being here is such a good idea. I'm gonna catch a cab and go to a hotel."

" B? B! …that's silly. Why?" Faith asks. " B, would you turn around? I'm tired of talking to your back"

Buffy turns, her face looking distressed, and a bit guilty.

"Look" Buffy starts. " I really think it best for both of us if I go to a hotel"

" And that would be because…?" Faith asks, her irritation increasing

" Faith, for god's sake. What if I go psycho and hurt you? Do you think I want that on my conscience? Isn't it bad enough I already…." And she stops, guilty and confused.

"What? Stabbed me?" Faith asks, exasperated. She touches where the scar is hidden beneath her blouse. " That's not gonna happen again, B."

" How do you know that, Faith? How?" Buffy's voice is rising.

Faith grabs Buffy's shoulders, making her look at Faith. " Because, that was long ago, in a different time, and we were different people. You wouldn't do that again" Faith states quietly.

" How do you know?" Buffy replies, quieter.

" I wouldn't let you" Faith states, firmly. " Now, put down the cases, and come talk to me"

"Faith, I think it best I…."Buffy starts, but is interrupted.

"God, Buffy" Faith loses her calm. " Just come talk to me" She pulls the pulls the other slayer along, cases and all. She sits her down, not all gently, and takes the cases and throws them across the room." Now, talk to me, dammit, Buffy. You have time to save the world 7 times, and not 10 minutes to talk to me?" Faith growls at her.

Buffy gets a weird look on her face. " Why does everyone think that?" Buffy's voice is flat

" Gee, B. Don't have a clue… what? Maybe cause you did?" Faith is still irritated, but wondering where THIS was going?

Buffy looks at her, sadly. " Faith, I thought maybe at least you would get it" She sighs

Faith is now intrigued. What weird logic is going through the Blonde's mind? 

"What are you babbling about, B?" Faith asks, but her tone is not irritated, gentler

"God, Faith. I nearly …cause of my …failing, hell…I was a big part of the problem. Look, I nearly chickened out with the Master. I wanted to quit. I nearly let Giles get killed facing the Master, because I was afraid"

" I see…you were 16 years old. You didn't want to die…yeah, I know about that prophecy…so you got scared. Gee. What a surprise. Funny thing is, I was told you went through with it anyway, and died. That is sorta how I got here, right?"

" Ok, how about Angel, then? How I slept with him, and he lost his soul? And how he went around torturing my friends, and tried to use The Judge and Acathla to destroy the world. I didn't have any responsibility for that, I suppose? That wasn't my fault?"

Faith sighs. " You were 17, in love. For God's sake. You made a mistake. You didn't even KNOW what would happen. Am I right? And seems to me that you stuck around, defeated The Judge, and Acathla, and sent Angel to hell to save the world."

" With his soul. He spent 100 years in a hell dimension, with a soul" Buffy is looking at the carpet.

" And what choice did you have? What choice did Angelus leave you?" Faith counters.

" The mayor, then?"

"Oh, I get it. You're responsible for the mayor wanting to become a demon?" Faith makes a noise

"No, but through my actions, I gave the Mayor a powerful ally. One that nearly got him his wish" Buffy states, quietly.

Both women are silent. This is not an easy topic for either of them. Buffy speaks again, after awhile.

" We had you on our team. Two slayers. We could've  put down the Mayor faster, but I screwed it up"

" Ok, Ms. Logic. Explain that one to me" 

" I was… jealous of you" Buffy says, small voice. " You were so …and everyone liked you, even my mom. And I …I treated you like …crap." 

Faith goes whoa…jealous of ME?

"And …when Alan Finch got killed, did I stand with you? Did I even try to reach out to you? No. I tried to save my own ass, and … I sat there, lecturing you on what YOU should do. Like, I had any right! No wonder you ran…right to the Mayor. After the way I treated you? Why would you think you would get any support?" Buffy sits, nervously picking at the sofa.

Faith chuckles, but there is  an edge of bitterness in the chuckle. " You, were jealous of me. You, who had it all,  jealous of some street kid with nothing."

Buffy stares down " Yeah. Stupid, huh?"

" Yeah, pretty stupid. But don't worry, B. Lots of stupid to go around there. I was jealous of you too. What you had. I thought it came easy to you…you had it handed to you on a platter. And I didn't want to have to work for it, I just wanted it, free, no strings. And you weren't the only one looking out for their ass after I killed Finch" Buffy winces. She still feels some guilt on that. "Buffy, I killed Finch, not you" Faith noted the wince. " You couldn't have stopped it. I was high on slaying, out of control. No discipline. I shoulda heard his heart. I didn't. I killed him, I know that. I shoulda stood up there, and taken my lumps. But I was a kid too, and I ran. I went to the Mayor, and he took me in. And I went all evil , cause I wanted to please him. Ok, I admit. One little bone from you woulda done it. But you and I were kids. We shouldn't have had to do what we had to do. Neither of us is guilt free here, ok? But still, Buffy. You stopped him. You kept him from destroying Sunnydale, and a lot of the rest of the World."

" Not without your help, Faith" Buffy states, quietly. " It was you that saved the world that time"

"Huh???? Now Faith is really floored. " What the HELL are you talking about?"

" The dream. In the hospital. After Angel bit me, to save his life. I had a dream with you in it. You told me how to defeat the Mayor… to go after his weakness… his humanity. I used the knife I stabbed you with to anger him, lure him after me till he got in the trap and we blew him up. If not for you, …."

Faith waves this off. She figures Buffy just had a dream. She had no recollection of such a dream.

"What about Adam, B? The Initiative? That was your doing. You saved the world then."

"No, not really. I mean, ok I figured it out, somewhat, but without Willow and Tara's spell…without that, …I say that they saved the world. I was just the vessel. I got the credit, they did the work."

"ummm…nothing would have happened, if you hadn't put your brains, guts and strength in it, B. They helped, sure. But you did it." Faith states. " I know I certainly didn't help there" her voice goes low

" Yeah…body switch" Buffy sighs. " A secret Faith?"

"Ok" Faith responds, not sure what she means

" In some perverse way, I'm glad that happened" Buffy states.

"ok… got me. HUH?"

" I know this sounds weird, but it gave me a chance to see what it was like for you. It made me realize how lonely you were, how lonely you had been all along. Explains when the Mayor was nice to you, you acted like you did. You never had anyone to just love you Faith. And you needed it bad. I saw that just being you for a short time. How you survived it all those years…" Buffy stops. She is a bit overcome with regret.

" Maybe it was good for both of us. I thought you had a fairy tale life, B. I thought it was all handed to you, you didn't have to work for it. I found out how hard you had to work. How you were expected to be Ms. Perfect Slayer. That they had all these expectations of you, how you couldn't let them down. And, how lonely it was . You had friends, sure, but they didn't, couldn't get it. They didn't know how it was to have the whole fucking world on your shoulders. You couldn't really fall in love. Because you had to hide what you were. God, I started out hating you, ended up feeling sorry for you. 

"No need, Faith. It was my life. What's expected of me" Buffy states, voice flat.

"Look, B. this is pointless. We can go over every action you did. You'll look at the mistakes, I'll point out the good stuff.  The point is, without you, the world wouldn't have needed saving 7 times, it would have ended after the first time."

Buffy gets up, trying to think of how to respond. She sees Faith's copy of the picture that they took after defeating the first. She goes over, and picks it up.

"This is my point, Faith. Everyone says I saved the world, 7 times. That aint so. WE, all of us, saved the world. If not for my friends sticking by me, if not for them covering my mistakes, and especially, if not for YOU that last time, we wouldn't be here."

" Ok, B. you convinced me. Your nuts. What the hell did I do so special ? I came in and fought some vamps. No big" Faith says

" You came, when you didn't have to." Faith starts to object, but Buffy waves her down. " You came at just the right time. I was losing it Faith. I was too proud, too stupid to see it then, but I was." Again Faith starts to protest, but again Buffy quiets her. " Look, Faith. I was so caught up in protecting them, being a mom to them, trying to be General Buffy, and find a way to defeat the First, that I didn't see what was happening right in front of me. They were scared, miserable and ready to bolt. First thing, you come in. you size it up, and take them out for a little fun. Hell, I remember being their age. Wasn't THAT long ago. I shoulda realized that they needed a boost, but I screwed up…and nearly lost them in the bargain."

" And when they revolted, and made you leader" Faith really objects, but again Buffy halts her. " I know, I know, you didn't want it. HELL, who did? But they were right, and even the scoobies saw it. Even Dawn saw it. I had lost it. I no longer was working from what was best, only what I thought was best. I was being a little dictator, and wasn't listening to anyone else's concerns. And they rightly booted me. Ok, I admit. I was pissed, and I was hurt. I'd been doing my best . But I was wrong. I let my pride get in my way. Not until I got over it, did I come back, ready to really be a part of the team".

"Not before I managed to get some of them killed" Faith is now looking at the floor.

" Faith, we talked about that. But I didn't say what I really wanted to , should've that day. I gave you some cold speech about war, and generals, and death. What I wanted to say was Thank you, you covered my ass, you did your best, and I was proud of you"  Buffy smiles at her co-slayer

"Really?" Faith looks up at her

" Oh, yeah. Again, stupid pride. But I can tell you, without you this wouldn't have gone as well as it did. And, that is why I didn't let you get away with trying not to be in this picture" Buffy waves the picture at her. " You definitely belonged in here". Faith blushes. " If anyone didn't deserve to be here, it was me. You guys did the work, I just came along for the ride".

Faith just gives Buffy a look. " Ok, B. Enough of the humble crap. Lets just face it. We're two hot chicks with super powers" She deadpans, then cracks up.

Buffy joins her in the laugh, then sobers up.

" But, there's still the point, Faith. I can't be here, I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

"That's crap, B. That's not it" Faith is not buying that tale.

" It's NOT crap, Faith. I…I ..could go off and do some damage to you…"Buffy stutters, but Faith isn't gonna let her get away with it.

"Nope, B. That isn't it at all" Faith smirks at her.

"Really, Oh Ms. Wiseass? Then what? What is it, oh she who knows it all?" Buffy mocks her.

Faith gives her a penetrating look, and smiles

" You kissed me B. Not a friend-like kiss. But a definite, wicked smooch. And you can't handle it"

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Heh. Heh. Heh.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: buzz Sorry, you guessed incorrectly. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. Own the characters. But, we have some lovely parting gifts for you.

Author's Note: Can feel the tomatoes flying already. Ok, But I just had to. I'm bad. I'm evil . Lets get over it, and move on.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 7

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The two young women are staring at each other. Their faces less than a foot apart. Each is trying to outstare the other, but neither is willing to blink.

"Well?" Faith says

"You're nuts" Buffy replies. " I told you why I'm leaving"

" And I'm to believe that crap?" Faith asks

"It's the reason", Buffy is adamant.

" So, I guess it never happened then." Faith retorts.

"What never happened?" Buffy queries.

"That kiss. It never happened?" Faith ripostes.

Buffy loses the contest. Her eyes look down, and her cheeks flush. 

"Oh" Buffy. Small voice.

Faith contemplates. Keep torturing her, or have mercy. Torture, mercy. Hard choice. She finally decides mercy, as the other slayer looks so miserable(Hey, it wasn't THAT bad!)

" Look, Buffy. You were in a very emotional state. You…needed comfort, and sought it out. I just happened to be there. If I'd been a 3 eyed slime demon, you probably woulda kissed me at that moment", Faith says, then sees the other slayer's reaction. "Ok, maybe not a 3 eyed slime demon, but you get the point".

"Anyway, Blondie. Don't get so full of yourself. It wasn't the best kiss I've had ya know" Faith teases her

Buffy is tired of being called Blondie " Is that so, 'Dimples' ?" Heh. Let her digest that one.

Faith gets a smirk on her face, of course showing off her cute dimples " Oh, is that it now? We're gonna start having cute names for each other?" Faith's voice is dripping sarcasm.

" If you can call me Blondie, I can call you Dimples…Dimples" Buffy giggles

Grrrrrr

"Fine. I'm tired. I've been up all night. I'm gonna catch a few hours, take a shower, then take you over to the training center. I suggest you do likewise, you could probably use a few more hours. But whatever, entertain yourself," Faith sees Buffy looking again at the 'mystery room'. She frowns. " Except get any funny ideas about that room. It's private. Don't go in there unless I invite you to. Goodnight…morning…shit, whatever" Faith gets up, and heads towards her bedroom. " If you're hungry, there is some stuff in the fridge to snack on." She looks back, and sees Buffy look at her tossed suitcases. " Oh yeah, and get that stupid idea of you leaving out of your head, Blondie" She leaves .

Gotcha, Dimples, Buffy thinks. She goes over, grabs her cases, and takes them back upstairs. She is not sure about this, but right now Faith sounds in a "Don't give me grief" mood. She drops her cases in her room, looks at the bed…thinks, Nawwww…not really wanting that right now, and wanders back downstairs. What to do for a couple of hours? Go for a run? Yeah, right. Downtown L.A. early morning. Might wind up spending more than a few hours getting out of jail. Never mind waking up Faith and pissing her off more. Ok, how about a walk? Yeah, right. Muggers. Not that they would bother me, but then I have to explain to the police why and how I broke their arm(s). So not fun. Veg in front of TV. Plan!  It has all the ingredients. Snacking goodness, silly shows, no thinking. I like it.

Buffy wanders over to the fridge, finds something yummy to snack on. Wanders back to TV. Turning sound down low to keep from disturbing Faith(aka, dimples, hee, hee), she surfs till she finds something incredibly stupid to watch(ok, not so much surfing). 

Faith wakes up about 3 hours later. She slowly opens one eye, groans, then opens the other. Bad idea. Feel worse now. Oh well, probably feel better after a shower and change. God, feel like the Ick demon from hell. She gets up, puts on a robe( Blondie would freak if I go down naked) and leaves the Bedroom . Hears quiet crying. Oh, hell. Is she ok? What happened.

Sees Buffy on the couch, quietly sobbing. Goes over to Buffy.

"B. What is it? Are you ok?" Faith asks, concerned.

" It…it…it's Marissa. She…she's leaving Ben for Roberto. It' s..s..so sad!" Buffy sniffs., waving her hand at the TV.

Faith just stares at Buffy. She walks away towards the bathroom, mumbling * stupid soaps. How can anyone watch those things? * 

Faith turns on the shower, drops her robe and jumps in. She lets the warm water hit her, and revels in it. Awww…better, much. She hums to herself and lathers up, and starts thinking about this morning. She is a little disturbed with what she found out, and is more than a little worried about Buffy. She knows for a fact she is not letting Buffy move out somewhere on her own. Not now, anyway. Not 'til she is sure she is ok, and not going to have any more 'episodes'. That is just scary. And she might hurt herself, or others. No, she'll just have to stay here for now. Not that that's such a bad thought. Faith smiles. She thinks about that little kiss Blondie (Dimples? GRRRR) planted on her. Ok, maybe thinking too much about that. Have to admit though, that girl can kiss. Ok, Faith, let it go. It was just an emotional thing. Not gonna happen again. … sigh.

She finishes up, jumps out and towels down. Throws on her robe, and runs the brush through her hair. 'Anyway, if I get her back working, probably be better' Faith thinks. ' She'll be busy enough and won't have time to dwell on things. Shoulda taken her earlier, but just so tired, couldn't have made it. Well, anyway, it'll be best she get busy.'

Faith exits the Bathroom, sees Buffy still glued to the set. How can she do that? I would go wiggy. Ahhh, well.

"Hey, B. Unless you plan on going in that" Looking at her rumpled sweats " I would suggest you change and run a comb thru that blonde tangle of yours . We're going to the Center soon"

"Aw. Mom. Do I gotta?" Buffy whines.

Faith walks over, and shuts off the TV.

" Yeah, ya gotta. Get off your lazy butt and move, girlfriend. Prove to me that I didn't make a mistake in not looking up Kennedy instead" Faith ducks the sofa pillow tossed at her head, and heads upstairs to dress.

Knew that would do it. B has a total pathological hatred of that girl.

Heh.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

It's late in the afternoon when the two women approached the campus of the Training Facility. Well, campus might be a bit overstating it. It was actually a couple of acres of grounds with two buildings on it. It was surrounded by a wall, to keep out prying eyes. Inside the 'campus' consisted of two buildings. The first, and largest was the Training Facility itself. It stood at the apex of the circular drive. Behind it and back a little was a smaller building; this was the dorm house for the Slayers-in-training. Except for a small parking facility, that was the extent of buildings on the grounds. Otherwise, the grounds consisted of  a small patch of woods, some gardens and a well kept lawn. At first glance, it resembled more like the mansion of some rich celebrity, or such. The only identifying feature, from the outside, was a small plaque at the gate with the legend " Council Training Facility" and the address. The whole idea was to keep it low key and inconspicuous; it was not a place you wanted on the 5 dollar tour bus route. Or any tour bus route, for that matter.

Faith turned in the gates, activating a remote control she kept in the car. "When the State of California is crazy enough to grant you a real license, you can use this to get in. For now, I'll arrange someone to drive you in  and home." Buffy glared at her, but didn't say anything…but Faith better get used to Dimples real fast. Ahhh…revenge is sweet, she thought.

Faith parked the car, and they walked to the main building. It looked like any larger home on the outside.

Inside, it was a little different. There was a small lobby/reception area in front, walled off from the rest of the first floor. The only doors to the rest of the first floor we a large set of double doors in to the side of the reception desk. There was also a staircase to the far left of the lobby, for entrance to the other floors.

" This way, B. Time for the cheap tour" Faith indicated the double doors. They went in

Inside must have been the largest gymnasium Buffy had ever seen. It was divided into various areas, and mats covered most of the floors. One wall had cases full of weapons. There were training dummies everywhere. One area had punching bags and weight training equipment.  Another had gymnastic equipment. There was one area walled off from the rest.

" What is that for?" Buffy asked, curious.

"That's a meditation room. Some of the students find it helpful for concentration to meditate."

Buffy shrugged. Whatever.

"Most of the physical training goes on down here, though we also use the ground for running and some tactical exercises. As you can see, we have it split up pretty well between physical training, weapons and fighting training. Not bad, huh?"

"Sure beats the little back room of the Magic Box" Buffy agreed.

"Well, I'm sure that was fine for one slayer, but we often have up to 100 girls here at a time. Your old space probably get crowded a bit." Faith grins.

" One hundred? That must be fun. I thought a dozen was bad." Buffy is just trying to put it in perspective. Surely different reading about it in reports, and actually seeing it.

"Right now, we have 50 active residents. More are expected at the beginning of a new training term." Faith replied.

Buffy is just kinda wandering around. She is trying to get her bearings. For fun, she does a couple of punch kick combos on the training dummies. Cool. She wanders around, and looks at the weapons lockers.  
  


" So, who has the keys to these?" Buffy asks

" You'll get a set. There are one set each for the weapon's instructors, and your set. Otherwise, it's felt best not to have too many keys floating around. You know kids and toys" 

"Yeah, these have sharp edges and spiky things. Not suitable for children under 10"

Ok, well... enough for playtime. Now for the boring stuff" Faith says. Buffy groans. Not paperwork, please!" Up the stairs, Missy" Faith teases.

They walk upstairs, and find what looks like an average school. Lot and lots of classrooms. Buffy pouts." Damn. Thought I left classrooms behind when Sunnydale became a hole in the ground"

"Well, at least you don't have to attend class, if you don't want to", Faith laughs. "Believe me, I get the wiggins walking into a classroom . But along with the specialized learning, we have to keep up a full academic schedule here. Otherwise, the parents would get wiggy, and we'd have no students."

" What? No library? No Giles?" Buffy looks around. Faith indicates to follow her. They ascend another staircase. Well, Buffy thinks, at least you get your workout just going around this place.

" Up here we have the library, Cafeteria(Buffy groans)..don't worry, it's real food. We don't stint on feeding the girls, or ourselves. They work it off. Also, we have the offices(Buffy is dreading that), and a game room(ok, cool). Let me introduce take you into the library, and see if Havers is around somewhere."  
They enter the library, and Buffy feels almost at home. Dusty books everywhere, lots and lots of stacks. Rows of library tables, and of course the usual counter. On the second floor is a small office with the legend " Librarian" on it.  No one is in sight.

" Yo, Havers. You around here?" Faith calls out. A faintly British voice answers from above, in the stacks " Be right with you. Just filing some book returns"

A tall man, well built, with brown hair, slightly thinning on top, appears from the stacks. He has a slightly aristocratic face, and is wearing gold rim spectacles. He is wearing a brown tweed three piece suit. His age is somewhere in the middle to late thirties.

Buffy looks at Faith, and they both go: "GILES" and laugh.

The man comes down to the library check out desk. " Hello, Ms. DeMarco. How can I help you?" He looks at Buffy, not sure what to make of her.

" Hello, Havers. I would like to introduce you. Ms. Summers, this is Wendell Havers. Mr. Havers, this is Ms. Elizabeth Summers"

" Just call me Buffy" Buffy smiles, and extends her hand.

"Buffy? Buffy Summers? THE Buffy Summers? Oh, Indeed" Wendell takes her hand, nearly shaking it off " It's indeed an honor and privilege to meet you, Ms. Summers. I have heard so much about your exploits! Welcome to our humble library."

Buffy looks at Faith, like, is this guy for real?

Faith just chuckles. "Wendell, here , has a bit of Hero worship for you and Rupert Giles. He dreams of being a watcher, don't you Wendell?" Wendell reaches for his glasses, and cleans them. " Ahem, yes, someday when I complete my training". Buffy is nearly ready to bust out laughing. She didn't realize there could be two Giles in the world.

Buffy reaches out, trying to restrain her laughter, and pats his arm. "Don't worry, Havers, I'm sure you'll do just fine" She is biting her lip, hard.

"Thank you, Ms. Summers. I do so hope to prove worthy" Geeze, Giles and Wesley, rolled into one package. Who woulda thought? Buffy knows she has to get out of here, fast.

"Nice meeting you, Wendell" Buffy is near hysterics, and walks out of the library, fast.

" I …I didn't do anything to offend her, did I?" Havers asks, concerned.

"Oh… No, not at all, Havers" Faith too is finding it hard not to laugh. " Just we have a lot yet to see today" 

"Oh, thank goodness. I would hate to have her upset with me" Havers is quite taken with the small slayer already.

"Well, Travers, gotta motor. See ya" Faith has gotta go, now

"Always a pleasure, Ms. DeMarco" Havers replies, a tiny bit puzzled

Faith makes a hasty retreat from the library.

She finds Buffy leaning up against a wall, holding her stomach, just ending a huge laugh. Faith sees her, busts out laughing, and both slayers are helpless, laughing. They try to keep it quiet so Havers won't hear.

"Do they have a factory in England where they turn these guys out?' Buffy is hiccupping a little now

" I don't know, but the first time I met him, I nearly died" Faith is laughing pretty hard.

" God, I thought Giles was one of a kind. Boy, was I wrong. Geeze, even down to the tweed" Buffy is chuckling now. Then she sobers a little " Though, yes, Giles, despite being the model for  …Travers?( Faith says "Havers") Havers...right...is unique. I'm gonna miss him" Buffy says.

" Yes, you two were close" Faith remarks. Buffy starts to giggle again

"What?" Faith asks

"Can you see Havers and Giles together in that place? You wouldn't hear from them for a week" Buffy is laughing again.

Faith joins her, and they lose another five minutes to laughing. Buffy slowly sobers up, and realizes she is gonna have to see her office now…her stomach is turning over. So not looking forward to that. 

"Well, I guess I should show you your office now" Faith reflects Buffy's thoughts.

Faith walks Buffy over to where the offices are located, and Buffy sees her prison cell. She sighs. I hope I don't get stuck here too much. Almost like reading her mind, Faith says

"Don't worry, B. I have a very able paper pusher assistant that handles most of the day to day. All you've gotta do is once in awhile look things over and approve them" Buffy looks at Faith, and her face brightens. God, I could almost kiss her…no, wait, I did that already…better not encourage her. She already gave me grief today about that!

" Thank you, thank you , thank you" Buffy says. " One more pile of paper, and I was gonna scream"  Faith grins.

"So, B? Ready to meet some of the girls? I have some of the more senior girls scheduled to meet us downstairs. They will be some of the girls you will be training" Faith says. She is grinning big time now.

Buffy sees Faiths grin, and knows she has something up her sleeve. Not sure is she is gonna like this.

"Ok, fine. Sounds great" 

Yeah. Great.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

They enter the gym, and see a group of about 7 girls sitting on a mat by the hand fighting area. Faith leads Buffy over and introduces her.

" Ladies…LADIES, if you please" getting the chatting girls attention " I would like to introduce you to your new instructor. This is Ms. Elizabeth Summers. She will be heading up your advanced fight skills class from now on"

There are a few groans, and some titters. Buffy sighs. Oh, boy, this is gonna be fun, I can see.

" Hi, glad to meet you. I prefer if you call me Buffy" there are some laughs, " Or Buff." Some more laughs. " Did I say something funny?" Buffy is a little put out.

" Gee, Buffeeee" One of the girls says. " You don't look so 'buff' to me" She has a wiseass grin on her face.

"ahhh…and you are?" Buffy asks, tone a little flat.

" Janet"

"Ah, Janet. Would you like to step up here?" Buffy asks, very politely. Maybe, too politely.

The girl stands up. She stands about 5'11", and must outweigh Buffy by 40 pounds. It's not fat, all muscle.

Buffy stage whispers to Faith "When did we start getting amazons in here" Faith just grins, like the cat that ate the canary. She is going to enjoy this.

" So, Janet, I guess you figure I'm a pretty easy to take down. So, what say? Wanna try?" Buffy asks, quietly. The larger girl just grins.

"Faith, gotta couple of markers?" Buffy asks. Faith nods "Great, we'll play heart tag. It's good for training reflex, and aim. First to mark accurately the other's heart, wins. Ok?" Janet nods. Faith hands each of the contestants a marker.

" Ok, fine. Faith, you say go" Faith nods, a little smile on her face.

"GO"

Buffy and Janet circle each other. Janet tries a roundhouse kick , but Buffy easily blocks it, throwing Janet a bit off balance. She quickly recovers, and comes in for a feint and punch, but Buffy blocks both.   
 "Come on, don't hold back, I'm sure you can do better" Buffy teases her a little. 

Janet tries a sweep, but Buffy just jumps over it. Getting a little frustrated, Janet comes in, trying to do a scissor lock on Buffy's waist. Buffy just does a backwards flip out of the way, and  Janet falls, missing the lock. She jumps back up, and approaches the slayer.  She is a bit angry, and lunges at Buffy, trying to grab her arm in so she can put her in an arm twist. Buffy just uses Janet's forward momentum, grabs her outstretched arm, and flips her over onto her back. She comes down on the Girls pelvis, pinning her, and puts the dot right at her heart. 

" Guess I win" says Buffy, smiling down at her opponent. She gets up, holding out her hand to Janet.

" First rule . Never ever discount the size of your opponent." Janet grabs Buffy's arm, trying to pull her over her head. But Buffy anticipated it, grabs Janet's arm with both hers, and brings her around in an arm twist. She dots her heart, again.

" Second rule, never drop your guard" Buffy states. "We are done  now, right?" Janet nods, and returns to her seat. She won't be underestimating the small slayer again.

" I should mention, girls. This is THE Buffy Summers. THE slayer" Buffy gives hard look at Faith, " The one you have read about"  Buffy just rolls her eyes." You might not find it easy to take her down. Heck, I'm the only one who has even gotten close to it" Faith smirks. " Blondie is kinda tough, ya know? Probably a little out of shape, but hey? Desk job'll do that to ya" Faith is goading Buffy on.

"Oh, really Dimples? Wanna go for it?" Buffy knows what Faith is doing, but she's up for the challenge.

"Sure I won't hurt you, Grandma?" Faith chuckles. There are "ooo's" out of the group of girls.

" I think I can handle it" Buffy grins.

The two slayers match off, circling…the come together, and do punches and kicks. Both block each other effectively. Faith gets a hold of Buffy's arm , and tosses her over her shoulder. But Buffy is back up immediately, grabs faith and gets her in an arm lock. Faith brings Buffy over her back, and Buffy is on the floor, looking up. Faith is about to bring her foot down on Buffy, pinning her, but Buffy grabs her foot and flings her over, so Faith goes flying forward. They both are immediately on their feet, circling.

It soon becomes a ballet, and the senior girls are around them, yelling " Go, Go, Go" but it's a too evenly matched fight. One or the other will get  a punch or kick in, but it's immediately answered. Finally, both slayers just stop. It was fun, but play time is over.

The girls cheer and applaud, and the slayers join hands, and make a mock bow.

"Ok, Ladies, you're dismissed. Seeya later" Faith says, waving the students off. The girls exit the area, talking amongst themselves.

" So, B. whatta ya think?" Faith asks

  
 "Well, they're gonna need some work, if Janet is typical. She is big, and strong, but she telegraphs too much, and is a bit slow."

"Yeah, well, I deliberately had her here. I knew she would challenge you" Faith smirks, " and I knew once you humiliated her in front of her peers, she would start working harder. She is almost as hard headed as you are, Blondie" Faith chuckles

"Hey, knock it off , Dimples. You're pretty stubborn yourself" Buffy grins.

" Are you gonna keep calling me that?" Faith growls, but not really TOO mad.

"As long as you keep calling me Blondie" Buffy answers.

"Ok, Granny, no problem" Faith mocks her

" Sure Grump, gotcha" Buffy mocks her back.

" So, Bubble brain, whatta ya want for dinner?" Faith asks, getting into the game.

" Whatever sounds good, Granite face" Buffy shoots back.

The two slayers leave the gym, tossing insults back and forth

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Thanks for reading. Review if you will   =)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The usual stuff. Joss Whedon owns them. I borrow them. Mutant Enemy, Inc. goes "Grrr, Arrgh"

Author's note: Marissa found out Roberto was cheating on her with Sarah, so she went back to Ben. Thought you'd like to know. Of course, by then Ben had found Melanie…

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 8

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

It's night. There's a full moon , and it lights the garden. It's Angel's mansion from Sunnydale. Buffy is standing, sword in hand. She knows why she is here. To stop Angelus. To end his plan to destroy to world. To kill him. And her heart is confused, her mind awhirl, yet she knows what she must do

And he's there, sword in hand. They begin to duel, steel against steel. Move, thrust, parry, neither getting the upper hand. 

" You strip away your family" Angelus says.

The swords clang together

"You strip away your friends" Angelus says.

Thrust, counter, thrust

"You strip away the lies, the pain" Angelus says

The swords hit, and Buffy's goes flying. She backs against a wall, and Angelus follows. The point of his sword is at her face

"You strip away the love. What is left?" He thrust forward.

"Me" Buffy says, catching the blade in her hands, stopping it. She forces him back.

And it's no longer Angelus, but Angel. The light of his soul is in his eyes. Buffy comes forward, and touches his cheek

"That's where you have to start, Buffy. From you."

" Shhh…" She says, as she put the point of her sword to his chest

" It's over, long over Buffy. Time to stop looking back, and look ahead. See what's there in front of you"

She thrusts her sword forward, and he is gone, in a blaze of light.

And she is no longer in the Mansion, but underground. Under the school. And she is facing Spike. She's holding his hand, feeling it burn where the sunlight is burning him.

" I love you" She says

" No you don't, Slayer. But thank you for saying it" He replies

And they are no longer below the school, but on a Los Angeles street. They are walking, both are sad.

" But I do love you." She says

"No, luv. I was there when you needed someone to lean on. You had the world on your shoulders, and you needed someone to not judge, someone to let you lean. I did. But love? No, I know that now. And so do you."

" Stop looking backwards, luv. Stop trying to find what was, and look for what is"

It' night, in Sunnydale. And Buffy is running, running, running. She has to catch him. Catch him before he leaves. Leaves on the helicopter. Out of her life forever. She is close, the copter is just starting to take off. She calls out his name " Riley, Wait…RILEY". But again it's too late…she has missed him.

But it's suddenly day. And it's the desert, and she is still running, running. Up ahead a figure is sitting. Turned away from her. Looking into the distance. As she gets closer, she sees it's a woman, with long dark hair. She runs faster. The woman stands up, and turns to her. She smiles. It's Faith. 

" I've been waiting for you"

Buffy wakes up. Her eyes stare into the darkness, and she tries to understand her dream.

She's confused. She finds herself wondering what is going on with herself. 

She has grown close to Faith over these past weeks. Closer than she expected. Too close?

She finds herself getting grumpy if  Faith is late. She doesn't like grumpy. She wanders around a bit, at odds, not knowing what to do with herself.

She finds herself making little excuses to herself to get close to Faith. She is becoming too aware of when Faith touches her, and doesn't touch her.

When she eats alone, she hurries through it to get done. When they eat together, she drags it out, taking in every moment. Food has no taste for her, these days.

When Faith isn't there, she sits in Faith's spot, trying to feel her. If Faith needs to be gone a day or two, she will crawl into her bed, trying to catch her scent.

She doesn't admit any of this to herself. It's silly, it's not happening. It means nothing. She's my friend, of course I miss her.

Blah … blah … blah.

She's acting like she is in love, and it's scaring her. 

She's a girl. * I'm *  a girl. I'm not gay. I don't even find most women that attractive.

So, what's going on here?

She makes me laugh. God, that girl makes me laugh.

When she looks at me, I get stupid.

Did you ever notice how pretty her eyes are?

If she whispers something to me, my body gets tingly

If she touches my hand, or my shoulder, or my arm…I get butterflies

THIS IS SO STUPID. IT'S NOT HAPPENING.

Buffy jumps out of bed, pissed off. She doesn't watch where she is going, and she rams her toe into the dresser. 

" DAMN, Damn, damn" She hops around, holding her foot. "Damn"

She decides to go downstairs to the bathroom to check it out, in case she hurt it worse than she thought. As she hits the landing, she sees the door to "the mystery room" open. There is a light coming from it. Foot forgotten, her curiosity is piqued. It's open? Should I? …..

Nawwww… it'll piss of Faith

Yes, I wanna see

Yes...No? No…Yes? 

Aw,  screw it, I'm going in. or at least peeking in. hee, hee.

As quietly as she can(damned toe) Buffy makes her way towards the open door.  She crouches behind the door, and looks around it, sticking her head just inside the doorway.

Faith is standing in the middle of the well lit room, her back towards the door. She seems to be looking at something, and is, by her body language, puzzled. She scratches her head, and sighs.

But that's not what catches Buffy's attention(ok, well, only for a second). She is looking at what is on the walls. All over the walls. Paintings, sketches. Lots of them. Mostly portraits, some landscapes. There must be dozens of them. All sizes. What?

Faith leans into whatever she is looking at, and appears to apply something to it. She leans back, but isn't pleased. Suddenly, she goes a bit rigid. She gets that " I'm not alone" body posture, and starts to turn. Buffy quickly ducks behind the door.

After a few seconds, she hears a familiar voice call out:

" You might as well come in, B. I know you're there" Faith says, her voice resigned.

Buffy stands up, feeling a little stupid. She appears in the doorway. Faith is standing there, with a smirk, looking at her friend. She shrugs and says " Well, B. I guess my " dark, dark secret" is out." She grins, but you can't tell if she is irritated, or amused.

" I'm sorry" Buffy stands in the doorway. She knows that she pried, and shouldn't have.

"Aw, c'mon" Faith walks over, and grabs her friend's arm, pulling her in. "At least I'm not an axe murderer, hiding the bodies in here" Faith chuckles. " I'm kinda surprised, B. You should know you can't really sneak up on a slayer"

"Well… the door was open, and I got curious. I know, I know, I know you said it was private… but…well…" Buffy stammers a little, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

" Call it my therapy. I started drawing and painting while I was in prison" Faith says. " One day I just picked up a pencil, and did it. I was ok at it, and so I kept doing it. I …it made me feel better, somehow. It's not too good, but it still makes me feel better. I do it when I can't sleep, or I'm feeling off. I know…shouldn't be like… secret. But it kinda like comes from within me. Part of me. So I feel it's real personal. I'm not fond of showing it off." Faith explains, and looks around.

Buffy is wandering around, looking at the work. She is amazed. Despite what Faith thinks about it, it has a power. It's raw, some of the proportions are …off… but it speaks to you. And the portraits… especially the eyes. Just talk to you. You can feel them looking at you. 

" This is great, Faith. This really is great. I don't know why you don't show it. I love it" Buffy is all excited about it.

Faith just stands with her customary smirk. But inside, she is all jazzed. She's really happy, for some reason , that Buffy is so excited about it.

"Who's this?" Buffy is pointing at one of the water colors. It's of  young woman, sitting on a bench. She is looking down, and seems to have a haunted expression on her face. Buffy can feel her pain.

" She was convicted of murder. Seems she had been raped. Repeatedly. Finally she cracked, and killed her rapist. Stabbed him over 100 times. He wasn't too recognizable". Buffy gasps, God.

Buffy wanders around, looking at more of the pictures. She sees one of another woman, older. She can feel the violence of the woman. It emanates out of the painting.

"That woman" Faith says, seeing what painting Buffy is looking at" tried to kill me. Not long after I made the original of that painting" Faith says

"Wha-aa-at?" Buffy says. " Kill you?"

" Yeah. I had a lot of attacks in prison. I think the Watcher's Council was behind most of it" Faith says, looking away. Kinda staring off into space. " They had two 'rogue' slayers on their hands. You,  the rebel, who fired them, and me…the homicidal psycho who was an embarrassment. They knew the line came through me, so they tried to get rid me, get a new, more compliant slayer activated."

Buffy just stares at Faith. All that guilt she feels over Faith just comes ramming back home again.

" Anyway, after awhile, they let up. The women got the message that trying to kill me wasn't too healthy. Of  course, I spent extra fun time in the hole because of the fighting" Faith sighs.

Buffy is still wandering around. She sees the covered easel. That's what she is working on now. Hmmm…no, better not…right now anyway. She looks at the wall, and sees a familiar face staring back at her. Long, chestnut colored hair. Blue eyes, full of mischief, and a large, sweet smile.

" It's Dawnie!" Buffy squeals.

"Yeah, I like the little nut. I did it from memory. Reminds me of her" Faith grins. " She can be a pain, but she has a wicked smile"

" She'd love this!" Buffy exclaims. She knows her sister would be jazzed by someone painting her portrait.

"Really? Do you think so?" Faith is more pleased than she expected by Buffy's reaction. " I'll send it to her if you think she'll like it"   
 " Oh, yeah. I know she would"

"You've done so many." Buffy says.

" Ahhh…most of it's stuff I already did. I lost all the stuff I did in prison when I escaped, so I just recreated them from memory"

"Yeah… but, I mean…there are so many here… where do you get the time?" Buffy asks

" Well, B. I don't sleep much" Faith says, her tone a bit strained

Buffy looks at Faith, and sees suddenly all the anxiety and strain in it. Her heart melts. Without thinking about it, she goes over and takes her friend into a hug. It's close, tender, and sustained. At first, Faith seems a bit…resistant to the hug, but then need kicks in, and she melts into Buffy's arms. She doesn't cry, but Buffy can feel her sadness. Buffy just holds her, and rubs her back.

They break the embrace, but Buffy isn't quite ready to lose contact. She puts her hand to Faith's face, and gently rubs her thumb over her cheek.

Deep inside her, she wants to just kiss Faith, kiss and kiss her. But she feels somehow, right now, it would be wrong. So she settles for kissing her with her fingers, and looking into her eyes.

Faith is looking into Buffy's eyes. What she sees there… encourages her a little, gives her some hope. She knows she feels something deeper for Buffy. She has for awhile. But she also knows she can't rush her too quickly. She has to let her come to it. But she sees something  in Buffy's eyes, some desires. Some breakthroughs in her mind. Faith has learned patience, the hard way. She can wait for awhile. She brushes some hair out of the blonde slayer's eyes, and brushes the hair behind her ear. She feels Buffy quiver a little at her touch. Maybe she won't have to wait too long, Faith smiles to herself.

They break contact, each still a bit in the clouds. Buffy turns, and notices the covered canvas. She wanders over, and starts to lift the cover.

"B. Ummm…that isn't finished. I prefer you not look at it now" Faith stammers. Oh, shit.

But Buffy isn't really listening "Aw, C'mon, Faithelangelo" She giggles. " Lemme see you latest creation"

"B… really… it's not that …" But Buffy has lifted the cover.

"I'm sure it's…." Buffy stops, stunned.

It's her.

But not just a portrait

It's a three quarter length of her. It's her hair, her face, and her eyes. She is lying in bed, a sheet covering her legs and lower hip.

The rest of her is nude.

She is leaning on her arm, head raised above the pillow. She has a small sleepy smile, her eyes open, but more like bedroom eyes.

She notes, even in her daze, that Faith has …well…been more generous than Mother Nature in some of her proportions. But other than that, she…is like looking at herself.

She …is entranced, and …oh my. Oh my. Oh, my.

She looks at Faith. Faith looks embarrassed  and more than a little guilty. She looks back at the painting. She looks back at Faith again… she is smiling

" I …. love it" Buffy says, her voice low.

"You do?" Faith takes a breath. She hadn't realized she'd stopped breathing.

" You… made me so …pretty" Buffy is blushing a little. "But, you've been a little too generous in certain places" She giggles.

" I… I… was working from imagination" Faith says, a little …surprised?(ok, a LOT surprised).

" You think I'm that pretty?" Buffy's voice is soft and low

"Yes" is all Faith can think to say.

"Hmmm" Buffy is looking at the painting again. She turns to Faith, and starts walking towards her.

"Maybe" She starts, undoing the first button on her Satin pajama top. " Maybe … you should work with the live model"

Buffy slowly undoes the rest of the buttons. She shrugs off the top. It's all that she's wearing.

Faith stands, stunned. She feels her heart beating faster in her chest, and her breathing is getting heavier.

Buffy walks to her, and puts her hand on Faith's shoulder

" Am I pretty?" She has a blush, and her eyes are demurely turned down.

" Yessss"  is all Faith can say.

Buffy slips into her arms, and puts her arms around her neck " You're  pretty too" and with that, she kisses Faith.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Grrr. Arrgh. 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns the characters ( most of them, anyway) depicted here. Mutant Enemy, has the "grrr arrgh " Demon that will eat you if you violate the copyright( Ok there is that time at the end of season two where he says " I feel so bad…I need a hug"…but we won't talk about that). The author is just the twisted one writing this tale.

Author's Note: hmmmm…one wonders if  I should say anything here? Probably not. Ok, one. No resemblance to the scene in the movie "Titanic" was in any way intended. That ship sank. I'm hoping this one floats for a long, long time  =)

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 9

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

To say Faith was kinda surprised by Buffy's actions is like saying a vampire kinda likes blood. When Buffy dropped her pajama top, and was totally naked beneath it, Faith thought her heart was going to jump out her chest…via her throat. And then she …oh, my,  wrapped her arms around me and kissed me like…oh…my…

Faith was never the shy retiring type. At least, that is what everyone thinks. She is right there in your face talkin' the nasty with the best of them.

But right now, Faith felt like a 14 year old school girl with a crush. Nervous, shy, full of high flown ideals and the general silliness of a crush

This was Faith's first love.

Faith had sex, lots of sex, in her time. With both genders. But that was sex. Not love.

Faith has never felt love like this before. Had these kinds of feelings before.

This is love. A whole lot more scary. A whole lot more risky. A whole lot more…period.

She would do anything for this woman in her arms. If Buffy asked her to die, she would ask how. THAT is how bad she has it.

Ok, things are not complicated enough, are they?

Buffy also has issues here. Every love she has ever had has gone badly, ended badly. She finally stopped trying to love. Not wanting to love. It hurt too much. And what happens? This woman comes along, and breaks that nice neat little shell she built in one or two hammer blows. So, now she's stupid silly in love again. She didn't want to be in love again. She would rather face an Ethros demon than be in love again. Oh, and she has never made love with another woman before… and that kinda scares her.

Ok, I think we have tortured them enough, don't you?

Faith pulls Buffy closer, and the kiss deepens. Almost shyly, Buffy's tongue slides along Faith's lips, caressing them, asking entrance. Faith opens her mouth to Buffy, and Buffy gently explores her, tasting her sweetness for the first time. She sucks on Buffy's tongue, and Buffy melts deeper into her arms. Faith lightly runs her fingernails over Buffy's back, eliciting a soft sigh from Buffy.

They break the kiss, looking deep into each others eyes. Faith looks a bit shy, which throws Buffy

"What is it Faith? What's wrong?" Buffy asks, a little confused by Faith's reaction.

" Ummm… you won't laugh at me, will you?" Faith asks, almost scared to ask.

" Of course not, Faith. What is it?" Buffy is a little concerned now.

Faith almost can't do it. Almost can't tell her. She screws up her courage.

" You're the first for me, Buffy" Faith responds, nervously

"First? I don't understand? I thought you had …?" Buffy is really confused.

"No… not sex. I mean…you're the first person I …I… I'm in love with. You're my first love" Faith blushes, looking down.

Buffy is touched on so many levels. She gently takes Faith in her arms, captures her lips in hers, and softly kisses her. Soft, tender, almost innocent.

"Faith, honey, don't worry. I'll be gentle with you" Buffy whispers to her tenderly.

Both women look at each other, and giggle a little at that, considering all.

They kiss again, then Buffy confesses.

"ummm…this is a first for me too, baby. I … I've never been with a woman before" Buffy blushes

Faith smiles at her. She is so cute. " Well, I must say you have started off pretty well" Faith chuckles. Buffy blushes.

" I don't know why I did that" Buffy is rather embarrassed by her boldness.

Faith lifts Buffy's chin. " Because maybe you feel the same way I do?" Faith asks quietly

"Yes" Buffy responds, and kisses her again. Loving the feel of Faith's soft full lips on hers. She runs her fingertips along the back of Faith's ears, causes Faith to quiver.

Faith lifts Buffy into her arms, and Buffy throws her arm around Faith's neck. She leans in and nuzzles Faith…and then plants a soft kiss on her neck.

"Whoa...honey, don't do that, or I might drop you . My knees just turned to jelly." Faith breathes heavily.

Buffy lays her head on Faith's shoulder, and Faith carries her out of the Studio, and up the stairs.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Faith carries Buffy into her Bedroom, and lays her on the bed. She turns to undress, but Buffy grabs her arm.

" Please? Can I?" Buffy asks , maybe a little shyly.

Faith smiles, and turns around. Buffy stands before her, and starts to slowly unbutton Faith's blouse. Her fingers wander lightly over Faith's skin, sending little chills through her. She then pushes Faith's blouse off of her, and lightly runs her fingers over her chest and sides. She reaches around, and unhooks Faith's bra, sliding the straps down her arms, and gently removing it. She plants a kiss on each of Faith's shoulders.

Buffy opens Faith's belt, and undoes the button on her jeans. She slides down the zipper, and then shoves the jeans off of Faith's hips, letting the puddle at her ankles. She slides her fingers lightly over Faith's mound, and Faith can't help but moan a little. She hooks her thumbs in the elastic of Faith's panties, and pulls them down also. Faith steps out of the jeans and panties, and kicks them aside.

Faith is staring at Buffy. I thought she said this was her first time with a woman?

"Ummm…B? Didn't you tell me this was your first time with a woman?" Faith asks " You're so handling things unnaturally well".

Buffy blushes. " Ummm… first time in the flesh, Faith. But I have had dreams about us… and I kinda…well…wanted to act on what I dreamt about, a little" Buffy is feeling a bit… silly? Naughty? She really didn't want to tell Faith how she had masturbated to some of those dreams.

Faith goes all gooey inside. Man, she dreams about me?

Faith takes Buffy to the bed. They sit facing each other, cross legged, knees touching. 

" Just do what I do, baby" Faith says.

She starts by running her hands down Buffy's neck, over her shoulders and down her sides, stopping at her hips. She feels Buffy quiver under her touch, then Buffy does what she does. Faith feels tiny fires under Buffy's caress. Faith then leans in, and lightly kisses Buffy. She breaks the kiss, then runs her hands over Buffy's chest, and gently cups her breasts. She uses her thumb, and light caresses Buffy's pink nipples, causing them to swell and harden under her touch. Buffy is breathing heavier now, and does what Faith did. She brings her hands over faith's larger breasts, and uses her thumbs to caress them Faith feels like she is on fire, her breath is coming out in pants.

Faith gathers Buffy into her arms, and both women fall into the bed, laying side by side. They look at each other, shyly. It's new to them, and so special. Almost hesitantly they begin to touch each other. Soft, tender caresses. They are enjoying the sensations created by touching, and being touched.  The move together, embracing each other. The touch of their bodies, skin to skin is exciting, warm, and wonderful. Their lips touch. Softly, tenderly. Little sparks dance on their lips, the contact exciting. The kisses deepen, become more insistent as their contact builds the warmth between them into fire. Their embrace tightens, and Faith forces her thigh between Buffy's legs. Starting slowly, she rubs her thigh against Buffy's sex until Buffy is moving against her thigh on her own. She feels Buffy's moisture on her thigh, and feels her own moisture increase. Buffy, taking the cue, thrusts her thigh between Faith's legs, and soon they are rubbing furiously on each other, their thighs slick with love. They moan, each feeling the intensity of the pleasure building within them. It starts as a small fire at their centers, and grows… running through them like rivers of flame. They hold each other, their bodies slick with sweat and sex, as their kisses become demanding, almost savage. Their moans increase, become louder as they reach the edge, they are so close… so close… with a deep low groan, almost a growl, Buffy falls over the edge, pulling Faith with her. They float as their pleasure consumes them.

Slowly they drifted back, holding each other tight. Their kissed, soft tender kisses. Covering each other face with their lips. Faith pulled back a little to look at Buffy, and saw tears in her eyes.

"What? What is it baby?"

Buffy's voice, hoarse with emotion, says " I never knew… it could be so sweet… so wonderful" The tears fall from her eyes, and Faith kisses them from her cheek. She smiles, but it's the same for her. Buffy had brought out feelings in her she didn't know existed. Nothing in her experience had been like this. Her heart beat softly in her chest, but it was captured by Buffy's love.

Faith kissed Buffy again, sliding her tongue into Buffy's willing mouth. She slid her hand slowly down Buffy, 'til it reached she sex. Lightly, she caressed Buffy's folds, and slid a finger into Buffy. Buffy moaned softly into her mouth. Faith founds Buffy's little button with her thumb, and when she lightly touched it, Buffy's brain felt like it had been hit by lighting. Already hyper-sensitive from the last lovemaking, Faith manipulations soon had Buffy rocking against her hand. Whimpering, crying, mewling, Buffy was being pushed towards the edge, again. Faith gently squeezed her button, and Buffy's brain exploded into light and sensation. Gathering her close, Faith held her as wave after wave of sensation crashed through her…

Buffy opened her eyes, and Faith noticed they had shifted color. Normally a soft hazel green, they had deepened in color, and were almost a bluish green. Faith never knew that Buffy's eyes changed color with her emotions. She was to soon find out.

Without warning, Buffy had rolled Faith over on her back, and was on top of her, straddling her waist. Her lips came down on Faiths, capturing them in a dominating passion. Faith felt Buffy's tongue force itself into her mouth. Demanding her attention. Buffy hands worked over her, her nails lightly scratching against Faith's skin. At first, she was a little alarmed, but was soon feeling a deep fire building within herself. Her own slayer side came out, and began to scratch at Buffy's back and sides.

Buffy's lips and teeth were all over her. Kissing her, biting her, licking her. Faith felt the fires in her stoked. She stopped resisting Buffy's passion, and gave into her own feelings and heat. Buffy's mouth found her breasts, and suckled and bit her nipples. It was incredible, savage and erotic. Faith felt her body squirming, liquid fire building within  her.

Buffy moved down between her thighs. Her mouth kissed, sucked and bit on the tender flesh. Faith was awash in sensation, her hips beginning to squirm and buck. Buffy lifted her up, and threw Faith's legs over her shoulders. Her mouth sealed over Faith's nether lips, and her tongue savagely penetrated her

Faith felt lighting course through her body. She had never been so … taken before. So utterly helpless to someone else. It was new, it was exciting to her. Her legs pressed against Buffy's head, and Buffy continued licking her. The fires in faith were raging. When Buffy's lips found her engorged button, Faith nearly screamed. When Buffy's teeth touched the hypersensitive skin, Faith did scream. Slowly, her mind blew into a million pieces, as her orgasm took her over.

It seemed like hours before she could remember who she was, where she was, who was with her. Buffy was holding her, had her wrapped up in her arms and legs. She could feel where Buffy had bit her, scratched her. She didn't care. She had never… ever felt like that before.

They stayed like that, neither wanting to move, to break the spell. They were sweaty, tired, and sore.

They didn't care

They were in love. So in love.

Wicked, total, five by five love.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. own these characters. I just type and type and pretend I know them.

Author's Note: Together at last. Ahhh…all is sunshine and clear sailing from here on out. Yeah, right. Watch out for the flying wrenches. 

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 10

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy wakes up alone.

 She kept trying to find Faith in her sleep, but couldn't find her. Finally she opened one eye, and saw Faith wasn't in bed anymore . She pouted a little. She wanted a morning snuggle, and no one to snuggle with. Poop. I want my snuggle. She sighs, deciding to get up. Then she realizes it's still dark. She looks at the clock and it reads : 5 AM.  Her forehead gets that little wrinkle it gets when she is worried.

And she was worried. Even though Faith had admitted finally she wasn't sleeping much, Buffy was already aware of that fact. She heard Faith wandering around in the night, trying to be quiet not to disturb her(she forgets I have slayer hearing too, I guess). And Buffy had her own sleep issues, at times. Faith was also using more cover to try to hide the dark circles under her eyes. Not good. And she was more… easily irritated. 'Ok, I know. I can be irritating, but this was different.'

Something was on Faith's mind. Something she wasn't telling Buffy. Buffy wished Faith would just tell her, whatever it was. Because it sometimes helped just to talk about things. Buffy might even be able to help, somehow. But Faith still had trust issues. Lots of them. 'Guess that's because she never met someone that she could trust… even me,'  Buffy still has that guilt going. She sighs. She remembers that her robe isn't in this room, so she grabs a blanket to stay warm, and wanders back to her room to get it.

As she goes out on the landing, she looks over the rail and sees Faith. She is standing out on the balcony, looking out over the city. She is wearing a deep purple robe, belted at the waist. There is a breeze blowing, and her hair is blowing a bit back behind her. Buffy just watches her for a minute, spellbound. Faith is just so… beautiful, it makes her heart ache just to watch her. Finally she thinks she can either stand up here, in a blanket, shivering, and watch her, or get her robe, go down to her, and shiver, but at least have her arms around Faith. Definitely, the latter.

She retrieves her robe, and walks down stairs and out onto the balcony. Faith turns, and smiles at her. She holds out her arm, and Buffy slips under it. Buffy puts her arms around Faith's waist, and the stand, watching as the sun creeps over the horizon.

Faith turns and watches as the light plays over Buffy's face. It still amazes her how this woman can look experienced, and innocent at the same time. Tough as nails, yet soft as down. She gets a warm glow in her heart just looking at this woman. She is even getting to like the nickname "Dimples" that B has christened her with, though she will never admit it. She leaned in, and stole a kiss, which the blond gave freely… so she stole another * Grin * 

" Whatcha thinkin' ?" Buffy asked. She still tries to get Faith to open up to her. " You ok?"

"Just stuff B, no big" Faith replies, looking back out over the city.

She hates it. She hates she can't tell Buffy what she's thinking. What's worrying her.

It feels like lying. 

She hates lying to Buffy.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Things weren't going so well for Faith.

Not at the Program. Something's happening. She knows it. But she can't pin it down, or prove it.

But just too many things were changing. Not big things, but things that just made her suspicion bone twitch.

This person quits, and is replaced by a stranger. That person gets a transfer, same thing. It's hard, because Faith was just getting to trust the others, and now, it seems like she is surrounded by strangers.

And Angel. He is hard, sometimes near impossible, to get a hold of. When she can reach him, he seems like he is more irritated being interrupted, than interested in what she has to say. He dismisses her fears, then says he has to go. 

Strange. This is as much Angel's baby as it's hers. And yet, he is acting like deadbeat dad. And so what? He sends in surrogate mom…

Cordelia.

Faith is really, really trying to convince herself this is Cordelia Chase. She looks like Cordy. She talks, walks and acts like Cordy. She IS Cordy. Most of the time.

Most of the time.

This 'Cordy' gives her the wiggins. She can't help it. She gets this vibe… this wrong vibe. And those looks she has, when she thinks no one sees her. The amused malice; the " wonder if they bought that?" look.

And now Angel has made her "liaison" to The Program. So, officially, she has to go through Cordy to communicate with Angel. Maybe I'm just a little jealous, but that just really stinks. This program is important to me; important to the world. Why then do I feel like I have submit everything in triplicate to Cordy for approval? Oh, yeah. Cause she does.

Maybe I'm being paranoid. Maybe I'm being unfair. I mean, they had a logical explanation for it.

" Look, Faith" Cordy said. " I know this seems weird. But you have to deal. Angel is under a lot of pressure right now , running Wolfram and Hart's L.A. Branch. What with dealing with the Senior Partners, trying to keep the clients happy, and at the same time trying to do good out of the office, rather than evil, it's a lot stuff going on. So, though this program is important to him, he can't give it the time he did. And he also wants to keep it away from prying eyes… like the Senior Partners. So, he wants someone here he can trust… me… to be able to report to him." Cordy sees Faith's look , and continues " Ok, he trusts you too. Just that I can go in and out of Wolfram and Hart, and no one pays attention… you, on the other hand, attract attention. You can't help it, being a slayer and all."

Ok, reasonable

Condescending,  a bit insulting, but reasonable.

Maybe I'm paranoid. Maybe things will be ok. 

Why then do I feel like I'm being used?

Why do I feel like a dope?

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

She's gone again. 

She's out somewhere. Doing something. Something important, that needs to be done. According to her. Something she won't tell me about.

Gee, Buffy. Jealous much?

I know, I know I sound just like the jealous wife. But dammit, aren't you supposed to like share when you're in love with someone? I try to share my day with her. Keep her up on what's happening with the Training center. Share anything that is funny, or amusing(why does Havers always come to mind when I think funny?). Try to include her. 

But does she include me? No. No way, no how. Silly me, dumb blonde, wouldn't get it right?

Can you say "Grrr"? 

* If  * I were jealous, I would think she was meeting someone. But I know better. Cause of the way… well… gee she treats me when  we are together… I mean…giggle…together. Oh, lord, am I ever gonna grow up? When we are in bed, making love. There is no question in my mind(when it hasn't gone bye- bye) that she feels I'm special, that she loves me. But, bed doesn't cover everything, does it? We used to laugh, we used to talk, and we used to do stuff together. Silly stuff, fun stuff, important stuff. I thought, anyway. But…that is becoming less and less. Sometimes I might as well be here alone. If she's not working, or working late, or meeting someone, she is in that Studio, shut up  with a painting. At least now, I can go in there. 

I've seen her latest painting. It's not a portrait, but a landscape. It's dark… and scary. And very angry. Like she is trying to express all the anger and frustration she has bottled up. Something I wish she would let me help her with.

Ok, I know our past history hasn't been good. It's been crap. Hurt on both sides. Distrust on both sides. Jealousy  on both sides. But I thought, really thought, we were getting past that. But how can we get past that, when she refuses to try to reach out to me? Does she think I don't see she is hurting? That there is something wrong, really wrong ? I'm Blonde, but not entirely stupid, ya know? Stubborn, childish, willful, I get it. But I'm also capable of taking my share of the burden. Why won't she let me ? Why won't she let me in?

So, great. Now both of us can be miserable. Both pretend everything is great, when it isn't. Both of us not talk about what is really important. 

Yeah… that works.

Don't ya get it faith? I love you. All of you. In every way, in every situation. Good, or bad. 

Great. Fine. Fine.

Damn

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

" Something's goin on here, Angel, and it stinks" Faith is pacing back and forth.

Angel and Faith have met in some little deserted corner of L.A.'s Muhlholland Drive. They meet here to keep away from the prying eyes of Wolfram and Hart. Both are a bit on edge, Faith because she wants some answers, Angel because he doesn't really want to be here.

" Look, Faith" Angel replies, keeping his voice calm, " I've been trying to explain to you, again, why things are going like they are. I have a lot going on at Wolfram and Hart. The Senior Partners are always, in one way or another, looking over my shoulder. I have their "representative" always appearing at the least convenient times. I have Fred's concerns to deal with, Wesley's concerns to deal with. Gunn, as super lawyer, just weirds me out, and I can't be entirely sure I can trust him anymore. Then there is the fact I have to keep the 'clients' happy, while trying to , as Xander would say, keep doin' the good. There are only 24 hours in the day, and I just can't give 110% all the time to everything. Right now, I have to take a less active role in The Program. That's why I put Cordy there. So you could get word to me, without raising alarms with the senior partners, and maybe tipping them to what we're doing."

" That's part of the problem, Angel. Cordy" Faith is less calm, but trying to sell him on her point of view. "That…woman… just doesn't feel right" She expresses it the best way she can, trying not to upset Angel.

"What are you getting at, Faith?" Angel asks, a bit exasperated.

" She isn't…right, Angel. She isn't the Cordy I know, or thought I knew"

"That's ridiculous, Faith. There's nothing wrong with Cordy" Angel replies, a little pointedly

Faith catches the undertone. "Meaning?" but she suspects she already knows what he means.

"Meaning, that I think you're being a little paranoid" 

"I gotcha. I'm paranoid cause she starts making changes. Oh, and am I consulted? Wanna guess that answer? And anything I want to do, I have to clear with her. I've been running this thing nearly 2 years, Angel. I thought I was doing a good job. Am I paranoid when I'm suddenly find that I'm having to justify everything I do? When I'm no longer able to make decisions I feel are important to the continued success of this program?"

"Angel, I don't think you're entirely objective in this. I know you have feelings for Cordelia. No big secret. But the thing is, whoever this is, I just don't think it's her. I don't get the right vibe off of her. I see things I don't think you see, or want to see. Frankly, I don't think I'm too suspicious. I think you're not suspicious enough"

" I think I know Cordy better than you" Angel responds, quietly. He has heard enough.

" I would agree, if this was Cordy. I don't think it's her" Faith responds

Angel sits, thinking. He comes to a decision, but he's not happy about it.

"Faith, I think that maybe you have become to close to things. You're not looking at things objectively. I think you're letting your emotions overwhelm your judgment. Frankly, you have been at it too long, and working too hard. I think you need to take a leave of absence. Get away for awhile. Do something not related to The Program. Then, when you've had time to clear your head, and are ready, come back. We'll talk."

"So, that's it. You're firing me" Faith is a bit stunned, but recovers quickly.

"No, not fired. Consider it a mandatory vacation. Something I think you need" Angel says. " You'll receive full pay while on leave. Cordy and I agree on that."

"Cordy? What does she have to do with this?" Faith is incredulous.

" Part of why Cordy is in the Program is to … keep me apprised of how you're doing. I've been concerned about you for awhile, Faith" 

Faith is pissed. She wants to tell Angel to take his money and shove it. But she holds her tongue.

She has put in too much time, effort and heart on The Program to flush it now. The only way she is going to be able to get to the root of things here, is to keep some kind of friendly relations with Angel. She's so not happy about this, but she knows if she loses her temper now, what she has been creating, trying to create, the last 2 years will be finished. She can't accept that.

"Ok, Angel. Your call. I think you're making a mistake. But I will abide by your decision" Faith says. She is so biting her tongue, it hurts.

Angel is frankly surprised and relieved that Faith is not reading him the riot act. It plants a seed in his mind… one that might grow later.

" I'm glad you see are taking this so well, Faith. Believe me, It's not easy for me, either. But once you're ready, we'll give this another go, ok?" Angel asks.

"Sure, fine. Got it. I gotta go now. Someone's waiting for me at home, and I've kept her waiting long enough"

"Really? You're seeing someone? That's great, Faith. Anyone I know" Angel smiles

" I think so." Faith says, as she walks back to her car.

" Who is it?" Angel asks, really curious now.

Faith calls back, as she is getting into her car

" Buffy" . She gets in her car, starts the engine, and drives away.

Angel looks after her, stunned.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Teach him to mess with Faith, eh? More to come


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: The author of this tale in no way owns the characters he is writing about. Those belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. Damn, that sucks, sometimes.

Author's note: Things aren't going so well in Faith World. Unfortunately, I'm not sure we have hit bottom yet. But, at least she has Buffy… doesn't she?

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 11

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The anger Faith felt when she was 'put on leave of absence'(just say FIRED, FANG) is only increasing.

She's driving home, her eyes cold with rage. Her knuckles are white where they grip the wheel. Her mouth is a grim straight line. I don't think I'd want to be a certain brooding hair gel loving vampire right now. 

" You're not looking at things objectively Faith" 

" You're letting your emotions overwhelm you ,Faith"

Yah, you should talk Fang. Wanna talk about Sunnydale sometime?

"You've become too close to it"

What, the truth, dead boy? Exactly what IS the truth, dead boy? Or aren't we playing share right now?

" I think I know Cordy better than you do"

Oh…yeah, if you were looking with eyes that weren't blinded, ya dope. THAT'S NOT CORDELIA

Cordelia

This all started when that ….that…. bitch … 'came back'.

You blind idiot. That …thing…isn't Cordelia. I suspected it for awhile. After our little 'talk' tonight, I know it. Whatever that is, it isn't Cordelia. Not the  Cordy I knew in Sunnydale(vain, shallow, and snobby… but sometimes not half bad) Nor the Cordy that visited me in Prison(Still vain, less shallow, not snobby…and caring. Something I hadn't seen before in her). This "Cordelia" is one cold bitch. Those eyes… can freeze hell. There is this calculation I never saw in her… not the shallow manipulation she would pull… this is deep…and mean. I've seen her look at you when you're not paying attention… I would run for the hills, or look for the stake in my back, Fang. She's using you, Angel. Now she's got The Program…and I suspect what she has in mind for that is not good. So not good.

Stupid, stupid , stupid. Men are so STUPID. I woulda thought being undead for so long you would be a little different. But you're just as stupid. You don't think with your head. Now, it's all fucked up.

Horns blaring, and cursing, make her realize she's not driving so well… her concentration is shot. Someone flips her the finger, and she says " Bring that closer, lover. I'll teach you how to touch the back of your wrist with it"

Stop it, Faith. It's not his fault you're being a jackass

Faith pulls off to the side of the road, shaken. She is angriest with herself for letting what she has worked so hard on the last two years slip through her fingers.

Because of … Cordelia.

Think about it Faith. When did things start changing? When Cordy 'came back'. When did you start getting knots in your stomach thinking about The Program? When Cordy came back. When did you get canned? After Angel put Cordy as liaison to The Program. Coincidence? I don't think so.

That little voice in her head chimed in. That little voice that always was there, goading her, needling her, pushing her to do things she really didn't want to do. The little voice that had so run her life when she was younger.

"See Faith? See what you get for trusting people? Kicked. That's what you get."

Shut up.

" Aw, Faith, just lookin' out for ya. Making sure things are 5 by 5. I mean, do you really think they care about you?"

Shut. Up

" You can't be that stupid, Faithy. They're just using you . Used you, and threw you away. Yah, they care bunches about ya"

SHUT. UP.

"You think you're good enough for 'em faith? Think you're special? Some little street slut? Some little broken doll? You've always been a fool, Faith. Trying so hard, just to get kicked, and kicked again. Stupid, stupid bitch"

SHUT.UP.SHUT.UP. SHUT UP.

" They're laughing at you , Faith. Laughing at you for being a fool"

SHUT UP. STOP IT . SHUT UP NOW!!!!

" And Buffy? You think B really loves you? She's probably laughing right along with the rest of them. You're so incredibly stupid, Faith. Such a dumb bitch."  
  


STOP IT . GODDAMN IT  I'LL SHOW YOU . STOP IT . SHUT UP , SHUT UP SHUT UP.

Faith roars out of the parking space, nearly taking out 2 cars. She doesn't care.

She'll show her.

She'll show em all.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy is walking. She doesn't know where, just walking.

She had to get out of that apartment. It's large…Huge…but she felt the walls closing in on her. Felt the emotions. Felt the words not said, the secrets crushing her.

She jumped off the couch, ran  through the door, and flew down the stairs, not waiting for the elevator. She couldn't stay in there another second.

So she's walking. And thinking. Trying to figure out what to do.

She's angry, confused and hurting. Why? WHY? Why won't she let me in? Why is she hiding things? What is going on?

I thought, really thought we had something. Something special and close. Something worth fighting for.

So why are neither of us fighting? Why is she hiding? Why am I running?

I know something is eating at her. Worrying her. Making her hurt. But she won't trust me, won't come to me. Why? What did I do?

" oh, I dunno , Buffy? How about in Sunnydale, when from the first you shoved her away? When she tried to reach out to you, you ignored it, or slapped her away. How about leaving her to deal with Alan Finch's death? And then, even if she was bad, you tried to kill her? Think that might make her hesitate trusting you?

" Or how about she came back, and helped you kick the First's ass, watched your back, saved your ass…and what? She almost begs you to stay with her, and what do you do? Run to England. Ya, that's good for building trust."

I thought we got past that. I thought we…really … connected.

When I saw that painting she did of me. The love she poured into it. The way she made me. I…it hit my like lightening. What I felt for her. The dream…the dream made sense. Her out there, in the desert alone, waiting for me…standing, smiling when she saw me " I've been waiting for you". Waiting for me. To catch up. Realize what was right in front of me.

Oh , god I love her so much!!!

What did I do wrong? How did I make her feel like this? That she has to hide things from me?

Did I get it wrong? Maybe…she doesn't love me?( oh, please, god no…please don't say that). Maybe she just needed someone to hold her? And I …mistook it for more? Now, maybe I'm painful for her to be around? I make her uncomfortable in her own home? Maybe… I'm an embarrassment to her? Oh, god what if she doesn't love me? I can't believe it. I won't believe it. Not the way she treats me. When she lets me in a little. In bed. She makes me feel so special, so loved. But, what if I'm mistaking sex for love? Afterglow for …more?   
  


I want to die. If she doesn't love me, I just want to die.

She just stands there for awhile. It hurts too much to move. Her guts are twisted into knots, the thought of Faith not loving her back tears at her heart. She forces back the tears, she won't cry. Not now. Not knowing. But her hands are fists, the fingernails almost cutting into her palms.

Finally, she starts walking back to the apartment. Her steps are slow, devoid of life. She moves like someone facing a death sentence.

She has to know. How Faith feels. If her being there is making Faith upset, miserable. If so, she'll go. It'll kill her, but she'll go. She'll manage somehow. Somehow.

She doesn't want to know.

But she has to know.

So, she heads back to wait for Faith.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy approaches the door to the apartment and hesitates. She sighs, knowing that she has to do this. It doesn't make it any easier.

She gets her key to unlock the door, then notices it's a little ajar. Huh? I know I locked this when I left. Maybe she is already back?

Buffy's stomach hits her toes. For a brief moment, she contemplates running. Maybe finding a bar or something to get drunk at. Anything but go through that door. But she decides she has to do this, now. Or it'll never get done.

She opens the door, calls out "Faith…." And stops dead

The place is demolished.

It looks like a hurricane blew through here, followed by a set of destructive demons

Furniture is torn, and thrown everywhere.

The TV set has been kicked into the wall.

Most of the lamps are broken, one sparking.

The coffee table is reduced to rubble. 

She hears a noise in Faith's studio, and tenses.

She drops into a fighting stance. The door is open. She walks over, and is ready to fight.

"Ok, Asshole. Freeze. You're so gonna be…FAITH?" Buffy freezes

She sees Faith. Faith is tearing paintings off the wall. Smashing them, tearing them to pieces. Faiths stops, on hearing Buffy. She stands stock still.

"Faith?" Buffy repeats, but low… almost a whisper.

Faith turns to Buffy. When Buffy sees her face, her expression, her heart goes cold. It's old Faith… Bad Faith. The Faith that worked for the Mayor, and delighted in torturing her. Her eyes are ice. Her face is smiling, but it's a sneer more than a smile. Buffy feels something she hasn't felt for a long time . She feels a small twinge of fear. Of Faith.

Faith cocks her head, and says " Hey, B. Just get back? Whattya think?"

Buffy stands and looks at Faith, not saying a word.  
 " What, cat got your tongue, B? Too bad, you use it pretty good in bed. Had better, but you're not too bad"

" So, whattaya think, Twinkie? I got bored painting. Decided to branch out. Performance art. Like the redecoration? I thought I'd call it " Faith's Fucked up life, and what a Fool she is". Nice ring, don't ya think?" Faith half sneers at her.

"Faith? What is it? What's wrong?" Buffy is scared, and hurting for Faith at the same time.

"Wrong? Hell, Nothing's wrong, B. I'm bored, 's'all" Faith says, her voice low and dangerous. "So bored"

She takes another painting from the wall, and starts smashing it.

"Bored with the good guy routine. Bored with feeling guilty" Smashes her fist through the canvas. " Bored with all the crap." She destroys the frame.

"Why are you doing this? What happened, Faith?" Buffy tries to move closer, but Faith stops her with a look.

"Don't even, B. Well, what happened? Gee, I don't know. Your ex…you remember? Angel? The one you boinked and turned into a Homicidal Maniac?" Faith sees Buffy's stricken expression, and chuckles. " I see you remember. Well, Mr. Perfect Guy, Mr. Soul Vamp, decided I was useless tonight. Decided everything I worked for was a joke, I guess. Decided " I was too close, to emotional". Decided to fire my fucking ass tonight." Faith takes another painting, and starts smashing it on the wall. " the thing I had been working on for the last two years. The thing I put my all into, my heart, my soul…and I get thrown away. Used. Yup, that's Faith in a nutshell. Too stupid to realize that no one gives a crap!!!" She kicks at the painting 'til is just shreds of canvas and bits of wood.

"That's not true, Faith…"Buffy is cut off by Faith

"Oh, is this the part where you tell me you love me, B?" Faith sneers at her.

" I… I do love you Faith" Buffy protests, a little upset at Faith.

"Oh, c'mon B. I'm not dumb. God, you really must think I'm dumb. Think I fell for your act? Shit, B, I see the torch you carry around for Fang. Size of the Arco Towers. I'm supposed to believe, really think, you fell for me? So. What? Did dead boy put you up to it, or was it your own idea?"

"FAITH" Buffy is getting really upset now.

Faith comes over, and shoves Buffy up against a wall. Holding her by the neck, she taunts her " Well, B? Whose idea was it? His? Yours? That little seduction? That your idea? I must say Bravo, it was priceless. I almost…ALMOST…bought it. But I knew you didn't love me. What? You love Fang Boy. Well, News Flash, B. Fang is so over you. He is all oogly googly over Cordelia now, it makes me wanna puke. So, dumb ass,  you lose."

Buffy brings her arms up, and breaks Faiths hold. She pushes her back. She is mad, really mad.

" Is that what you think, Faith? I seduced you? That I don't love you?  THEN YOU'RE A DUMB BITCH. CAUSE I LOVE YOU WITH EVERYTHING I GOT!!!" She stops, trying to calm down. " I love you so much, I can't think. I can't see straight. And you tell me I'm playing you??? Goddamn you Faith and your paranoia!" She advances on Faith, like she is ready to fight her.

" Oh, my!" Faith sneers " The 'enraged lover' act. Well, here is what I think of you and your love" Faith storms over to the easel that has Buffy's  nude on it. She picks it up, ready to smash it.

She tries, really tries to smash it. She raises it over her head, and starts to bring it down…and stops.

She looks at it. Her face briefly softens. Then it hardens again, and she raises it again… and stops. Her face changes. It looses its hard edge. It turns sad. Her eyes begin to shine with tears. She places the painting back on the easel, gently, almost reverently.

Her legs seem to give out from under her. She sits down hard on the floor. Her body starts to shake with sobs. Her voice is no longer cold and hard, it's full of longing and pain and despair

"What have you done to me? Goddamn you, what have you done to me? I HATE you, Buffy Summers" Faith sits, and starts to sob, her heart breaking.

Buffy slowly approaches Faith. Faith sees her, and says " No… goddamn you stay away from me. I hate you. Haven't you hurt me enough?" Faith cries, trying to keep Buffy away

Buffy ignores her, kneels by her, and takes her into her arms. Faith tries to bat her away, lands a blow or two, but Buffy persists. Slowly Faith gives up, and clings to Buffy. Clings to the last thing she has.

" I hate you, I hate you" But her voice is weakening. " I hate you so much" Her voice cracks, and she cries " I love you, goddamn you. Why? Why? What have you done to me?"

Faith dissolves into Buffy's arms.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

And slowly, painfully, Faith tells Buffy everything

About the Program. The secret slayers. How Angel had approached her with the idea, and she had run with it. How she had put her heart, her soul, everything into it.

How she secretly saw it as her final redemption. Her way to do some good, to contribute. To make up for the evil she had done in the past.

How it had become her baby. And how, slowly, she saw it slipping away.  About the changes in personnel and in policy. In training and goals.

How Angel became more and more remote from it, barely tolerating her calls and questions.

How all of a sudden, Cordelia was there. As liaison. To actually, it seems now, take over.

And she talked about Cordelia. How she had changed. Wasn't the same. Wasn't Cordelia…but someone, or something else.

And her fears. For what would be done with The Program, now that she was out. How it would be twisted, maybe perverted.

"He fired you? For what? I don't get it" Buffy said

"Cause I tried to tell him about Cordelia, and he didn't want to hear it, or believe it" Faith said " He's got a blind spot when it comes to her. Ever since she came back. He can't see that she isn't the same person"

"Angel… and Cordy?" Buffy is a bit put off by the idea. " I mean, I guess it had to happen someday. But Cordy?" She can't help getting an " Ewwww" expression on her face. Faith looks at her, and almost chuckles.

" Well, I did kinda get him back" Faith is embarrassed about telling Angel.

"Oh? How?"  Buffy is a little puzzled

" When we ended our little 'meeting' I told him I had someone at home waiting for me" Faith says, getting a little red in the face." So, he says 'Your seeing someone?' and I said ' Yeah' and he said ' Anyone I know?' and I said ' Yeah, I think so' and he said ' Who?'," here Faith hesitates… " I said ' Buffy'"

Buffy raises a brow, but doesn't say anything

" You should have seen his face" Faith can't help it , she chuckles a little bit. " He looked….like someone hit him with a hammer" 

" So, you told him, then?" Buffy's voice is low, neutral.

" I shouldn't have?" Faith is a little taken aback

Buffy starts to giggle. Then it builds into a laugh. Faith smiles a little… this is a good sign

" I..I would have loved to have seen his face" Buffy is laughing hard now. " it musta been priceless" She can't help it, she starts to laugh harder. Faith joins her, getting relief from the stress and tension built up. They laugh themselves silly for awhile, then calm down.

" I know, it's hard to believe. All of it. Any of it. But B, I swear, it's true. All of it" Faith is serious now

" I know. I believe you Faith" Buffy says quietly

" You do?" Faith is relieved. And …she can't believe how much she needed Buffy to believe her.

" I just wish you had told me sooner, Faith. I know you felt the need for secrecy, but I never would have told anyone about it. And I saw you hurting, but not telling me. I really was afraid you didn't love me, Faith. It hurt. Bad."

Faith hugs Buffy. She has no words to express her feelings. Then her eyes go wide as the impact of what she has done tonight hits her

" Oh, God, B. What have I done?" She is devastated by her own destructive impulses.

" Let's say, Faith, I'm not really approving of your redecoration choices" Buffy quips. She then turns serious. "Worst thing is, Faith, you really scared me tonight. I haven't seen you like this since you were working for the Mayor. I was really afraid for awhile that you'd hurt me, or I would have to hurt you. Again" Buffy closes her eyes, the pain of that memory evident. Every time she sees that scar on Faith, she has a twinge of guilt.

Faith sees her reaction, and comforts her

"B. Look. It took me a long time, and a lot of soul searching. But I realize now that you were doing what you thought you had to do. My …words earlier were to hurt you, they're not what I believe. I was all evil at the time. I had caused the need for my blood. I won't say it was easy, but I forgave you for that. Long time ago" Faith said

"Really?" Buffy asks.

"Really"

Buffy feels a small measure of guilt lift off her shoulders. But she will always carry some guilt about that night with her.

"Well, I guess it's good you didn't  redecorate upstairs." Buffy said. " You didn't, did you?" She asks, a little afraid of what she might find up there.

"Uh, no. Didn't make it up there" Faith replied, a little relieved

" Good, at least we have somewhere to sleep. I think we need to go to bed, now. We need sleep. We have a lot of work ahead of us in the morning. Then we're gonna have to figure out what to do from there"

"We?" Faith asks, with hope

" We, honey. We're in this together. We're gonna have to find out what's going on, get some evidence. And we probably are gonna have to bring in others. I don't think we can do this alone." 

Faith doesn't say anything. She just feels shame for anything she had thought about Buffy that evening. How she had cut her emotionally. She had a lot of making up to do.

Two very tired, very emotionally drained slayers headed upstairs for bed.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own 'em. How many times I gotta say that?

Author's note: Our poor heroes never seem to get a break, do they?

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 12

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy lay sleepless, watching Faith.

What had happened last night, the destruction, finding Faith … so out of control…had scared her. Scared her badly.

Not for herself. She wasn't afraid of what Faith would do to her.

But she was afraid what Faith would do to herself.

When she'd brought Faith upstairs, she'd been like a robot. She moved, but she was empty. A shell. Buffy had undressed her, put her to bed, then slipped in bed with her, holding her 'til she slept. An uneasy, dream filled sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, whimpered and cried out. Buffy finally woke her.

"Faith, baby… wake up honey. You're dreaming" Buffy gently woke her

"B? Wha… What's up? What's goin' on?" Faith asked, still half caught in her nightmare

" You're having a nightmare. It's ok, I'm here baby" Buffy said

And she held her again, 'til Faith drifted off… into  a more easy sleep. And Buffy still watches over her.

She looks so like a child, Buffy thinks, and thinks about Faith's past… what she knows of it. About how she had been abused and neglected by her mother, and how she had been raped by her mother's boyfriends. How she had been abandoned. And been adopted by her watcher… only to have to watch her be killed by a monster. How she went bad, but only because she … felt no one cared about her. And how she has tried so hard to redeem herself.

" Why… why do you torture her so?" Buffy asked, to whoever might be listening. " She tries so hard. Every day she struggles to prove herself, and you keep knocking her down, making her pay again and again. When does she get a break? When does she get the forgiveness she so desperately wants?"

Buffy feels her tears coming, and gets up, trying not to disturb Faith. It has been hard enough on Faith without being awoken by me crying.

Buffy felt like a fool. She had so doubted Faith loved her, was ready to leave her. And Faith had proved without words she loved Buffy. When she couldn't destroy the painting she had put so much of herself into. The way she had tried, and failed, and put it back, almost like she was caressing Buffy. More than any words, that had shown Buffy how much Faith loved her.

Buffy, her tears running down her face, looked over the landing and saw the destruction of the living room. Slowly, her tears stopped, and her resolve kicked in. She had to do something about this…something before Faith woke up. Buffy knew she was already in bad shape. There might not be much she could do to help Faith with her demons, but she could at least try to lessen this burden.

She went downstairs, and looked around 'til she found some trash bags. Working quietly as she could, she began to clean up the mess.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

7 a.m.

Buffy had been working for nearly 5 hours. She'd made a lot of progress, straightening the furniture, cleaning up what was totally destroyed, sweeping(with a broom) to clear the debris. The furniture that was still intact, was back in place. The TV was a total loss, but she covered that and put it in a corner, to dispose of later. She had even gone into the studio and cleaned up the wreckage of Faith's paintings. Amazingly, she hadn't destroyed everything . Some of the paintings survived. The one of Dawn, the one of the poor girl who had killed her rapist. And others she had felt important to her, had survived. Seems even in her madness she hadn't been able to trash her whole life.

Buffy was exhausted. She had accomplished a lot. She was too tired to make it back upstairs, so she stretched out on a surviving sofa, and drifted off to sleep.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

  It was dark where she was.

They had been running, running for so long. Trying to get away from those who had been following them, trying to kill them.

Cordelia had done what she had wanted to do. She had corrupted Angel's soul. Made him not a soulless monster, but a vampire with a monstrous soul. And they both were now pursuing Faith and Buffy, bent on destroying them. Trying to stop what they had to accomplish.

Faith and Buffy had been separated. Buffy hadn't seen Faith in days. She was scared, and worried about Faith. Afraid of what would happen if they caught her, or Faith.

She was in an abandoned warehouse , seeking a place to hide. To think. And she heard Faith's voice

"B? Is that you? Thank God! I've been so worried. Hurry, over here, I think I got them!" Faith cried out

Buffy rushed over to Faith. Faith had her back to her, and was pointing in a corner. Buffy approached the corner… and her heart  chilled.

Giles and Willow were in the corner. They had been arranged like sleeping children. They…had blood on their necks, and bite marks. They looked dead.

Behind her, she hears Faith's voice "Aw, what's wrong , B? Not who you were expecting?" She hears Faith chuckle, and it freezes her blood.

She turns, and sees Faith. Faith is vamped out, ridges, amber eyes. There is still blood on her teeth and lips.

Faith laughs at her. " Your Ex gave me a little…how did he put it? Oh yeah… parting gift. So, whattya think, B?" Buffy starts to back up as Faith approaches her. "No more guilt, B. No more Ms. Goody-Goody. I'm free B. Free to hurt those who hurt me. The feeling is awesome B. Think of it. Getting revenge on those who made life miserable. Too sweet. Wicked!"

"C'mon B. Be with me. I want you with me always, lover. We can do it together. Hurt all those who hurt us. We can be free, love. Free… Want it B. I know you want it"

Buffy starts to fight with Faith, but it's a losing battle. Combined with her skills as a slayer, Faith has the strength of a vampire. She soon has Buffy down, and is straddling her, holding her arms back. She morphs her face to normal.

"B, love. We can be together, always, you and I. No one can separate us again, not even death. We will live forever, and love forever"

Buffy struggles, but it's hopeless. Faith is just too powerful. And despite her fear, deep down she is attracted to the idea. Slowly, Faith leans in on Buffy. She licks her neck, sending sparks through Buffy's body. She kisses Buffy, her lips cool on Buffy's lips. She kisses Buffy at her pulse point, and moves the kisses down. Buffy feels a sharp pain, and then feels a strange ecstasy. She feels her life slowly draining from her.

Faith opens her blouse, and runs a nail across her breast, opening a cut. She pulls Buffy up, and forces Buffy's head to her breast. Slowly, Buffy begins to drink…

It's dark again. Buffy is in a small enclosed space… A coffin. She feels pain, and a hunger. She begins to break at the coffin with superhuman strength, and claws her way out of her grave. Faith is waiting there for her, smiling.

"Wake up, lover. It's time…time to wake up…."

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

" B. Wake up…wake up, B. C'mon your …."

Buffy's eyes fly open. She sees Faith over her, and she is scared. She cries out, and punches her. She leaps off the sofa, and looks for something to stake Faith with. She finds a piece of wood, and goes into a fighting stance.

"B. What? B? What is it?" Faith is concerned. And guilty. My god what did I do to her last night?

"Get away from me" Buffy growls at her. " You're turned, and you want to turn me. Get away, you bitch" Buffy advances on her with the stake.

"No…Buffy…I'm…not a vamp. Wake up , B…you're still dreaming" Faith backs up. She doesn't want to hurt Buffy, but she is a bit scared of her at the moment. 

" They got you , Faith, they turned you. Let me do this, let me do this" Buffy approaches, still convinced Faith is turned.

Faith is by the window. She gets an idea. She turns, and throws back the curtains. The sun streams over her.

"Buffy? I'm not burning… I'm human Buffy. Really" Faith is backed against the window.

Buffy stops. She sees Faith in the daylight, not turning into a fireball… She shakes her head, and her whole body starts to shake. She looks at the stake in her hand, puzzled, then looks at Faith…her face goes white… and she starts to back away.. "Oh God, oh God what…What? Oh no, oh no I almost…" She panics and runs and hides in a corner, covering herself.

Faith approaches her slowly. Using a quiet voice, she tries to soothe Buffy. But Buffy is shaking, and her breathing is fast and shallow. When Faith is near, Buffy starts to bat at her, driving her away. " No, no get away Faith. I…I…might hurt you…god, can't breathe… ." It suddenly strikes Faith.  

"Buffy, where are your pills?" Faith asks gently.

"M...m...m...medicine cabinet" Buffy croaks out.

Faith runs to the bathroom. She grabs the pills, and fills a glass of water. She comes back to Buffy.

" Sip some water, baby, then take a pill" Faith coaxes her.

Buffy takes the water, and sips at her. Her breathing settles a bit, then she takes a pill. She is still shaking badly however. Faith slowly, making non threatening moves, comes over to Buffy. She takes her in her arms, and cradles her. She holds her 'til the shaking eases. She then leads her to the couch, and sits with her. 

Gradually, it passes. Buffy calms down, and she just clings a little to Faith. She looks sad, and embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Faith…I…didn't mean to…" Buffy struggles to talk, but Faith interrupts her.

"No, baby, it's ok honey" She just hold Buffy, trying to keep her calm.

A little later, Faith asks, " When did you stop taking your pills, Buffy?"

Buffy looks at the floor " I thought …everything was going so well for awhile…I thought I didn't need 'em anymore." Buffy's lip begins to quiver.

" Shhh….shhh, it's ok honey…it's ok" Faith says, stroking her hair. "It's not your fault honey. I'm so sorry…god, what I did to you, baby. I'm so ashamed"

"No, Faith, honey, no. I …I was just so worried. You've been so miserable the last few weeks. I…I thought you didn't love me" Buffy confesses. Faith looks at her, shocked. " I thought I was making it hard for you here. And then I came home, and saw the apartment, wrecked, and I feared someone or something had come to hurt you. Then, I saw you, destroying things. And I felt that awful feeling seeing you like that, like… when you were with the Mayor…and I felt the anger and rage and pain coming from you…it was awful. And then I had that dream… Angel had turned you…god… and you sired me. I fought you, Faith, in the dream…but some part of me wanted you to do it. To sire me. To make me free. When I woke up, and saw you, I…panicked… I…oh, god I nearly staked you Faith" Buffy pulls away, trying to hide.

Both women are silent for awhile. 

Faith is lost in thought. She is beginning to question why this is so important to her. If it's worth losing everything over. Worth losing Buffy over. She suddenly realizes that Buffy is talking, low, quietly.

"….So tired, Faith. I'm just so tired. I'm tired of it all. Trying to be there, be right all the time. Do the right thing. When is it our turn, Faith? When do we get to have a life? That's all I want right now… a life. With you. Somewhere where there aren't monsters or demons or anything trying to kill us. Am I so bad for wanting something more? Something with you? Why is that so bad? So evil?"

"I know this is important to you Faith. I wish I could feel the same. But I just don't. If this is what you want, what you really want, I'll go along with you. I love you, Faith, and I'll support you in whatever it is you need to do. But frankly, right now, if I had a choice? I would just say go find someone else . I'm done. I'd run, not walk, but run in the other direction."

"When do we get our life , Faith? When does that happen? Never? We are always gonna have to atone for something? Fight the fight over and over and over, 'til one of us is killed?"

"If you die, Faith. I don't know what I'll do. I can't think of not being with you, loving you" Buffy's voice is getting plaintive. "So what more do they want from me? How many times do I have to give up everything? How many deaths do I have to give to get some peace, Faith?" Buffy's eyes fill with tears

"So tell me, please. What's next faith? What's the plan? What are we gonna do now , Faith?"

"What are we gonna do now?"

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I'm going to have this engraved on my forehead, so I don't have to type it anymore. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. own these characters.

Author's note: To quote Bob Dylan: Things they are a changin' . What's in store for our heroes? Lets find out.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 13

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Faith:

I'm lookin' at B, with her face pale, her eyes swollen from cryin', her shoulders slumped, and my heart is breakin' for her. I hate this so much. I hate watching her be so miserable. I want to say "fuck it, lets motor". My feet are itchin' to run outta here. Let someone else worry about it. But, I can't. Not without at least tryin'. It's too easy for me to run. I've done that lots. I gotta do somethin'. I hate it, but it's my fault. If I hadn't been so blind, if I had thought with my head instead of my gut, I woulda just passed on this whole thing in the first place. Now I'm afraid it's gonna become somethin' bad, somethin' I'd be ashamed of. I can't just walk away. If I could find somethin', some proof, and get it to like G-man, or the Council, maybe I can make it up.

"Maybe * we * aren't gonna do anything, B." I tell her. " Maybe you should stay out of this. Lemme handle this."

"Like you've handled it so far?" B. replies, lookin' around the room. Sigh.

" Ok, I got mad… psycho, even. I…I … got cut off at the knees, B. It hurt, and I took it out on the furniture" I said

Then she touched her neck. I could see some bruising, fading but still visible. Oh.

"Am I part of the furniture, too, Faith? Cause that's how I feel right now" B says, not happy at all.

"What are you talkin' about, B?" 

"You come home, you touch me, but you don't share what's happening with me. I'm not blind, Faith. I can see you're hurting. But not until you went Nuclear, practically make this place look like the rummage sale from hell, that I can even get a clue."

"It was secret, B. I couldn't tell anybody"

" Even from me? I … I thought we meant more than that. What, you expect me to go running through the streets shouting about it? Seems like you still don't trust me. Guess I had that comin', huh? I know I haven't been there for ya in the past when you needed me, Faith. But I thought maybe we got past that?"

She's not makin' this easy

"B, that's not it. I … I don't want you involved cause I don't want you hurt. I don't know what or who I'm up against here. All I've got are suspicions, not much to go on. But it's just too much for me to ignore. And getting the boot doesn't make me less suspicious. But bringing you in won't really help, don't ya see? And it only gonna make you a target, too."

"I guess it's 'cause I'm blonde, but I don't get it, Faith. I love you. That means I share the bad with the good. Understand? That means if something's comin' for you, I stand by you. I don't hide, I don't run, I stand with you. Oh yeah, I so don't want to have to do this again. Don't get me wrong. I hate the idea of facing this crap again. But if someone, or thing, is gonna give you grief, they gotta see me first. Get it? I'm part of your life, like it or not."

Did I mention she can be stubborn? And a bit of a hard head? No…well…she can be.

" I don't want you in this, B. What? If you get hurt, or…worse, think I can live with that?"

" 'N you think I'm gonna sit here and just let you risk your life? Yeah, what day is that gonna happen, Faith? Face it dimples, you're stuck with me. You had to be so cute and sexy and make me love you, right? See what happens? I stick like glue!"

No fair, B. Pushing me around, and makin' me love it

" You're gonna make my life miserable about this, aren't you Blondie?" I say, but she knows she won. Again. Damn.

"You betcha, Dimples. You can bet that cute ass of yours I'm not letting you do this alone" She's wearin' that 'don't fuck with me' face.

Did I mention she's a pain in the ass, stubborn, maddening, crazy nut case? And that I love her to pieces?

"Fine, Twink, you're in. Happy now?" Grrrrr. Why does she always have to win? And why do I love it when she does?" Get this though. First sign of trouble and your gone, got it?"

" And who's gonna make me? You? Oh, puhleaaze.  I've kicked your butt plenty. Think I can't still do it?"

"Bring it, Blondie. Show me your stuff!" 

"Yeah, your nuts, ya know? I just spent hours cleaning this place. No way I'm wrecking it, again."

"I must be nuts, bringin' you along"

"C'mon, dimples, ya need me" She grins, for the first time this morning. 

Damn. She got me again. She's right.

I need her.

More than air.

I need her.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

It's night. 

The night is cool, and dry. The moon is out, but is pale. 

That's ok, this isn't exactly lover's walk, anyway. This is the commercial district.

Run down, dirty. Lots of warehouses. You really don't want to stop and chat with anyone you meet here. Not exactly the place to take your honey for a stroll.

Unless of course, you're honey is a slayer… like you. And you're not out strolling, but looking to break in to one of the warehouses.

Two figures , dressed in dark clothing to blend better, are walking down a side street. The dark haired one is in the lead, followed closely by the blonde. Both are moving with a liquid grace.

"Ok, Faith, I've been on some cheap dates before, but this takes it" Buffy quips, trying to break the tension.

Faith just looks back at her, giving her a " knock it off " look. They continue down the street 'til they come to a fence. 

"Ok, this is it" Faith says

Buffy starts to approach the fence, like she is going to climb it.

"B, No!" Faith holds her back. She bends, and picks up a piece of scrap wood, and touches it to the fence. Sparks happen.

"Wow, you guys are serious about not putting out the welcome mat, aren't you?" Buffy says.

"Yeah, well…you know…not exactly wanting people to do the tourist thing here"

" So, any ideas how we're gonna get in?" Buffy asks. Faith seems to be moving down the fence, looking for something.

Buffy sizes up the fence. Hmmm… not any taller than the fence at Sunnydale High, really. Faith is still searching along the fence.

"Well, I guess if we can't do it the climbing way" Buffy says, and then she jumps up, and over the fence, landing on the other side of the fence, " I guess we gotta do it the slayer way." Faith looks up and sees Buffy on the other side of the fence. Her eyebrows raise.

"Yes, there's that way" She takes out a key card, and slips it through a hidden card reader " Or, we could do it this way." The gate clicks, unlocks and opens. She walks through, grinning. Buffy rolls her eyes.

" You coulda told me" Buffy grins ruefully.

"Yeah, I coulda. But it's fun watching you jump"

Buffy starts walking away, but Faith stops her.

"Hold on a sec, B." Faith says, as she slides open a hidden panel. She punches in a code, and the red light switches to green. "There, that should keep the guards from breathing down our necks. Glad they hadn't changed that yet"

They walk away. What they don't see is that after 30 seconds, the light switches back to red

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

They are heading for the warehouse door when a voice comes out of the darkness

"STOP!"

They freeze. Faith peers into the gloom, and her frown changes to a smile

"Hey, Tim, is that you?" Faith calls out.

"Ms. DeMarco? Is that you, ma'am?" The security guard answers

"You betcha. How's that wife of yours doin'?" Faith asks 

"She's doing fine, Ms. DeMarco."

"And Janet? No…Janelle…Did she get into that school she wanted?" Faith asks, solicitously.

"Yes, ma'am she surely did. Me and Marian are fit to bust with pride. Don't know how we're gonna swing it though" Tim replies.

Buffy is standing back, watching the exchange. She smiles, watching Faith with the guard. 'Sometimes, she just amazes me' 

"Well, Tim, you just come by the office. We'll work something out. I'm sure we can find the money somewhere."

"Thanks, Ms. DeMarco. I do appreciate that" 

There is a pause, then the guard continues.

"Umm… ma'am? I heard you were …on leave. What're you doing here?" Tim asks, feeling a bit bad having to.

"Oh, well, I needed to get a few things outta my office, Tim. Won't be long, I promise" Faith smiles. She hopes she can bluff her way in.

"You know the rules, Ms. DeMarco. Unless you're on the Active roster, you're supposed to report in. I can't just let you go in. Gotta call the desk. Sorry about that" Tim says. He starts to turn away to head towards the security booth.

"Tim?" Faith asks, and Tim turns back. " I'm sorry, too" Faith punches him in the jaw, knocking him out. She ties his ankles with his belt, and uses his cuffs to handcuff him to a pipe. To Buffy she says " I hated doing that. He's a nice guy"

Buffy shrugs. Sometimes you got no choice. They make their way to the warehouse door, and go inside

Buffy is quite amazed by the insides. It looks nothing like a warehouse. It has been built into a training center, offices and various classrooms.

"Never woulda known from the outside" Buffy says, looking around.

"Yeah, kinda the point, remember, B?" Faith smirks a little." C'mon, B. This way" Faith starts down a hallway.

"Where we going, anyway?" Buffy asks.

" Cordy's office. I figure maybe there is something there we can use. I know trying to access anything at Wolfram and Hart isn't going to happen. But maybe she left some incriminating stuff around her office. Worth a shot, anyway" Faith replies.

They head down the halls, and are amazingly fortunate not to run into any guards. 'Maybe a little too fortunate?' Buffy thinks, but doesn't say anything. Doesn't want to jinx their luck.

They reach an office with the legend " Cordelia Chase, Operations Liaison" on the door. Faith thinks a little bitterly 'Pretty sure that'll be changed to 'Director' any time now'. She tries the door, but it's locked. Using a little slayer strength, she busts the lock, and they enter.

"That's gonna be a little hard to explain" Buffy says, quietly

"Hopefully, we won't have to" Faith replies, and starts looking around the office. She flips on a small desk lamp, and they start a search of the office.

After about 30 minutes, they are discouraged. Nothing. Not a scrap. Seems Cordelia has been very careful with her paper trail. They are about to turn on her computer, see if they have any luck there, when a voice interrupts them.

"What exactly are you doing?"

The slayers look up, and Cordelia and Angel are standing in the doorway, looking at them.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"What exactly are you doing?" Cordelia asks the two slayers.

" I told you , Faith. We should have just left Cordy's  birthday gift at the guard booth. But nooo, you had to surprise her huh?" Buffy bluffs.

"Nice try, Buffy. But since we both know my birthday isn't for another three months, let's just say I'm not buying that one" Cordy replies.

Angel speaks up. " Faith, why are you in Cordelia's office at this time of night. What exactly are you looking for?"

"Angel, I telling you, something is really wrong here. I'm looking for some proof, is all" Faith replies, a little desperately. "Whoever that is, it's not Cordelia. And she is using you, both of us" 

"And you're here, Buffy, because… ?" Angel asks

" I thought we were on a scavenger hunt, myself. Looking for a Bitch on Wheels. Oh… Hey, Cordy… wanna volunteer?"

"Ha-ha Buffy, still with the K-mart wit, are we? I mean, your clothes obviously still come from there" Cordelia retorts 

" I told her what's going on, Angel" Faith replies.

" You told her. About the operation. This was a secret, remember?" Angel shoots back.

"Right, but you let Cordelia in on the secret?" Faith retorts.

" I trust Cordy, Faith."

" But, you don' trust me? Gotcha"

" I guess you were right, Cordy" Angels says, turning to Cordelia.

" I really wish I hadn't been" Cordelia replies, looking genuinely sorry.

"Right? Right about what?" Faith asks, getting irritated.

"I had to force it out of her, but Cordy has told me all about what you have been doing around here" Angel replies

"Doing around here?" 

" How you have been making changes, freezing her out of decisions, badmouthing her around to other people. I admit, I was surprised. But she said you would do anything to discredit her" Angel says, and looks at Faith pointedly. " And well…here we all are"

" She… said… that" Faith sputters. Her face has gone white, with little patches of red at her cheeks " And…did she say why?"

" I can't believe it myself, Faith." Angel says. "but with all that's going on, she said jealousy"

Faith is fisting her hands, trying to keep from laying into Cordelia right here and now. But, it's Buffy, not Faith that speaks up.

"And you're buying that, Angel?" Buffy says, arching her brow. " Are you sure that is where the jealousy is coming from?"

Angel looks at Buffy, a little wounded. " You know I want you to be happy, Buffy" 

" And so, you make Faith miserable? That's really gonna make me happy?" Buffy retorts.

Angel clenches his jaw, and changes the course of the conversation

"Look, Faith, I'm sorry. But with all that's been going on, and for breaching security with Buffy, and now this? I'm afraid I'm going to have to relieve you of any further duties on The Program. I'm really sorry, especially up until recently, you've been doing a great job. But, this can't go on, and I can't accept your actions. I will need your key card, and I must ask you to leave, immediately"

"Angel" Cordelia speaks up " that's really harsh. I don't think that is necessary, do you? Faith has done good work here. There must be some way to work this out"

 "Cordy" Angel starts, giving Faith a pointed look as if to say 'even now she's trying to cover your butt', " I just don't see it."

"Look, Angel. Why don't you go and let us talk for awhile. I'm sure we can work out something here. I just don't see how booting Faith from The Program is necessary"

" Are you sure?" Angel asks

"Yes… go…we'll make peace here" Cordy, all smiles, Ms. Reconciliation, assures him

"All right. Work it out, then." Angel replies. With that, he turns and leaves. Cordy, back to the slayers, watches him go.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Both slayers are a bit confused. They hadn't expected that from Cordelia. Faith was still mistrusting, but she was willing to try at least.

"Look, Cordy…I…" but she is interrupted by a laugh from Cordelia. There is no humor or warmth in it.

Cordelia turns back towards the slayers, and any humanity in her face has dropped off like a cheap mask. Instead, her face is the picture of amused malice.

"You two are priceless" She starts. " This couldn't have gone better if I scripted it myself. Of course you're fired Faith. Don't get any stupid ideas we're gonna work it out. Stupid bitch. I set a trap for you both, and you stepped in it like the dumb animals you are. You have been a thorn in my side since I 'came back' Faith, and now I have gotten rid of that thorn permanently. 

"Yeah, you're right Faith. I'm not the 'Cordelia' you know. She is long dead, brain dead since Jasmine rose. But she has a rather nice, healthy body, and I'm rather enjoying it. And I have Angel fooled, and frankly, that is my only concern. Any others that cause me trouble can be disposed of, as I see fit. Like you.

"Sure, I could've killed you. Like that," She waves her hand at Faith, and Faith goes flying against the filing cabinet "or that" does the same to Buffy, who hits a wall. Both get up, but are a little stunned. " Just a demonstration, so you don't get any ideas of trying to fight me. Anyway, I could have killed you, thought about it, actually. But then I would've had to kill Buffy too, and that would've raised too many questions. So, I decided on this.

"Think anyone is going to believe you after tonight? Never mind rifling the office. I have the tapes of you breaking in. And decking that guard out by the security booth? Just another nice little piece of the pie. On top of that,  I've already been spreading stories about you. Both of you. They make you look quite... demented? Well… anyway, at least bitter and vengeful. No one is going to believe you. So, I have you both gone, and no blood, no muss , no fuss. By the way, Buffy. Don't bother going into the center tomorrow, except to pick up any personal items. Seems the council was already worried about you, and what with the little…tales I told them…you have been relieved of duty, permanently. Sorry about that, but that's what you get for hanging out with her.

" You think you're going to fool Angel forever?" Faith snaps at her. "You might have him fooled right now, but he's not an idiot, even if he is a vampire. He'll figure it out"  Buffy looks at Faith, not believing she is still defending Angel after all of this.

" You moron. You still have no idea what you're up against. You think The First was hard? What we have planned is going to make The First look like a picnic. We have plans for Angel. Where others made a mistake is trying to separate Angel from his soul. We plan on anchoring it permanently. But I have some of the best mystics and others working on corrupting his soul, too. Angel without a soul, Angelus, is not controllable. He is a wild card. But, Angel with a soul, but corrupted. Now, there's a nice puppet. And he'll be our puppet.

"My suggestion to you both? Take a nice vacation. Better yet, retire somewhere. Somewhere far where I won't think about you. Just because I haven't killed you now, doesn't mean 'accidents' can't happen. Don't try anything stupid… we'll be watching you. So, go away, fools, time to take you out… your done." She turns to leave, then adds " I'm sure I don't need to escort you out." With that, she leaves the office.

Both slayers are still smarting from their little " body slam" provided by…that thing in Cordy's body.

Faith turns to Buffy and starts to say " Well, B. looks like we're…" and she stops, seeing Buffy's face. It's a set in a hard, determined look. Her eyes are blue-green… her slayer eyes. She has that " you just fucked with the wrong slayer" look… something she hadn't seen in awhile…and still could chill her

" Screwed? I don't think so. No two bit demon comes off to me like that. I'm gonna ram that little smirk of 'hers' down 'her' throat. 'She' wants a fight? 'She' aint seen a fight yet" Buffy mutters. " They never learn. You don't mess with me or mine"

She continues " But, I think getting out of town for awhile isn't a bad idea. I've just the place. How do you feel about Massachusetts?" Buffy asked, turning to Faith

" This time of year? It'll be colder than a Witch's…." then it dawns on her. She smiles a little smile " Ya know, I kinda miss Boston. Massachusetts sounds just fine."

Both smile knowingly at each other, and leave the office.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Massachusetts? What could be in Massachusetts?


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Legal mumbo jumbo blah, blah, blah I don't own em Joss and Mutant Enemy do 

Author's note : Off to Massachusetts they are. Just when our blonde hero was getting ready for a little tan time in the California sun. Sigh. How's a slayer to keep her tan if she never gets her sun? 

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 14

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The two slayers are sitting side by side on their flight. They are holding hands. Faith has her seat back, and is snoozing. Buffy, on the other hand, is sitting straight up. Her face is a mask of concern and gloom. She looks at her watch.

10 minutes out of Logan. Half an hour tops and it all gets real again. Sigh. I just wish sometimes this didn't keep happening to us. I put on a brave front for Faith back there, but I'm scared. Piss my pants scared. I don't know if I can do this again. I haven't a clue of what to do, where to go. If that …thing… is right, Giles is out. I mean, I can try to contact him, but what if he really believes I'm psycho? What then?

Harder than the first? What if …it… was telling the truth? Shit. I barely defeated that, and I had lots of help. Now my scoobies are scattered to the 4 winds, and slayers? If I'm thought to be nuts, I can count that out. God, why did I even say that? Why didn't I just take the hint? Run like hell…let someone else handle it? When you gonna learn, Buffy?

I know, I know, we'll get this done, somehow. But I swear, this is it. Last time. No more save the world for Buffy. She's done, take her out and serve her. Maybe it really is a game for younger women. I know it was easier when things seemed black and white, rather than all these shades of gray.

Buffy looks over at Faith, and she gets a soft look on her face. 

Poor baby. Hasn't been sleeping well at all. God, this has been so miserable for her. All the guilt she already carries with her, and now she is gonna blame herself for this. I know she will. She always acts so tough, like nothing bothers her. But I know better, I've seen how she gets 'bothered'. It's scary. I promise baby, when we're done here, we're done. No more of this. Somehow , someway I'm gonna give you the life you deserve. I don't care if I gotta rob banks to do it, I'm gonna see to it you have a nice happy life baby. Promise. We'll sit out in the sun, and tan and get all giggly and stuff. It's gonna be great. Promise.

Buffy brushes a stray hair out of Faith's face. Faith scrunches her nose a little, and moves a bit.

I hope… 'Cordelia' … was wrong. That they don't get Angel to be their 'puppet'. It's so weird. Angel, with a soul, evil. I just can't get my mind wrapped around it. But I guess it's possible, I mean look at all the evil flesh and blood humans do. But it just isn't right, somehow. Angel deserves better than this … after all he has suffered. Somehow I gotta warn him. I know he won't believe me, but maybe I can get someone who he will believe to talk to him, warn him before it's too late. Sigh… another thing for the list. Why the hell did he ever take that gig , running Wolfram and Hart anyway? Didn't he get it? Big Bad law firm. Not likely to roll over and just let him do his thing? There must be a reason, just wish I knew what it was.

Bong---- Bong

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We are making our final descent into Logan International Airport. Please bring your seats into the upright position, and fasten your seat belts. Fold away all snack trays and store away any carryon luggage you have. Thank you for flying United Airlines flight 843 to Boston, and we hope you've had a pleasant journey"

Buffy leans over. She is about to shake Faith, when she smiles, and goes in for the kiss instead. Faith's eyes open, and she returns the smooch.

"C'mon baby, we're landing. Gotta sit up and belt up"

Faith brings her seat upright, and attaches the belt. She smiles.

"Gee, B. Back on my old stomping grounds. Wicked. I finally get to lead you around and show you the hot spots. This is gonna be great. Faith and B conquer Boston, oh yeah" Faith grins at Buffy.

"Well, actually Faith, we're not really staying in Boston long. We're just being picked up at the Airport. Actually, we're going a little north of Boston."

Faith looks a little disappointed. "Oh? Where we goin' then, B?" She asks.

Buffy smiles at her. "Actually, Salem" 

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The young woman at the airport paced nervously. She had been here an hour waiting for the flight from L.A. to come in. But it really wasn't the waiting that was making her nervous.

She was nervous about seeing Buffy and Faith. Especially Buffy. It had been a long time since they had seen each other. 

Well, ok maybe not that long if you count those little get-togethers we had when I went to England to consult with the Coven. But those really didn't count. It was more like strangers in a café, than seeing each other. But since we really talked? Sigh. Even that last year we were together in Sunnydale…  how much did we really talk? Not much I say. So it's been a long time, really.

And that hasn't changed things. Not for me. Not the way I feel about Buffy. Something I could never tell her, ever.

She would freak. She wouldn't get it. No, she'd get it. But she'd be uncomfortable around me then. I mean I know she couldn't feel….sigh…Face it , Willow, she can't love you the same way you love her. Got it? She won't feel the butterflies in her tummy when I'm around, she won't babble for no good reason. She won't dream about me like I dream about her. God, if she ever knew that, she'd never talk to me again. Those dreams of her, her lips, her skin…sigh. How I want to snuggle up to her, and hold her, and kiss her…oh my. Not good to think of this. Not helping. So not helping.

But I can't help how I feel about her. Been feeling about her for a long, long time. I sublimated my feelings into Oz, into Tara, even into Kennedy…ok , Kenny was just sex, but the other two? I loved them. But, it was Buffy I wanted. I know that now…ok, I probably knew that then, but didn't admit it. She had no idea that when Oz left me, when she comforted me, how much more I wanted. So much more.

But that so wasn't her. She woulda thought it was icky… or gross. Ok, not fair. Buffy has always been supportive of me being gay. But… she would never see me that way. Never think of it, probably. Not in her realm of doing. So why does she have to have this utter adorableness about her?

This is pointless. Thinking about her that way. But it does make it hard at times being around her, and not…never mind. She said She and Faith were in some kind of trouble.  Didn't say much about it except it involved Angel… and Cordelia? What, did she miss a sale and go all destructo girl? Ok, not fair. Sometimes I get tired of being fair. When does Willow get a turn, huh?  Well, ok I went all veiny and dark roots and all, and tried to destroy the world, but I didn't, did I? Ok, Xander managed to get to me to stop it. But….

Damn it Buffy Summers. Why do I have to be in love with you? And why the hell can't you be in love with me? Grrrrrr.  

Well, here they come. Time to be  old reliable Willow. Old geeky sidekick Willow. Best pal Willow.

Never lover Willow, never darling Willow.

This sucks.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

" Hey guys, over here!" Willow jumps up and down and waves.

"Will!!!" Buffy enfolds Willow in a large hug. For a few brief moments Willow is in heaven…but she is back on earth again, all too soon.

" Missed ya, Will" Buffy whispered into her ear

"Missed you too, Buffy" Willow whispered back.

" Hey, Red" Faith interjects. The two women look at each other.

Should they hug? Shouldn't they hug? It finally goes into one of those awkward hugs with back patting, etc.

Buffy looks at the two of them and shrugs. Geeze, get over it already.

"Look, you two. Are you ever gonna let go of the past?" Buffy asks. "I mean, c'mon you helped save the world together. You gotta be able to do better than that."

They try again. It's a little less awkward, but still no warm and fuzzies. Buffy sighs. 

" You two are hopeless. That kinda sucks, as you both are special to me"

Willow goes huh? To herself

" I mean, Will's been my best friend like…what, forever? And Faith…." Buffy breaks off, a little…shy all of a sudden.

Faith has a grin like the cat that ate the canary.

Willow looks at Buffy, who is now blushing a little, and Faith, who looks all smirky …and…oh…

"Uhhh… you… and Faith?" Willow kinda does a double take.

One word goes through her mind. One word, and she doesn't use it very often…hardly ever…

SHIT

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit shitshitshitshitshitshitshit shitshitshitshitshitshitshit shitshitshitshitshitshitshit

Buffy looks at Willow, concerned

" Willow, are you ok ?" She asks.

Oh, dandy, Buffy. Just dandy.

"Yeah… fine, Buffy. Great. I mean this is great. You . and Faith. And. You. … Great!"

liar, liar, liar, liar. 

Damn

" So…how long? I mean, have you…ummm… you know?" Willow somehow gets out.

" Just a couple of months, really. Since I got back to L.A." Buffy smiles.

" So, Red? You. What about you? Anyone special?" Faith asks.

" Uh, no…no one really." Willow replies. 

"No, really Red? I can't believe it. I thought you would have to be beatin' them off with a stick, you're such a cutie" Faith says.

"Busy, you know? Running business, doing magic, takes up a lot of time" Willow makes an excuse

" Will, Will, Will. What am I gonna do with you? Don't tell me your back to syllables again?" Buffy teases her . Reminding Will of that time at the Bronze they discussed dating. "Well, that settles it. Faith, we're just going to have to take her out 'til she finds some little cutie to bring back home with her" Buffy chuckles a little.

"No, just been busy, Buffy. That's all" Willow replies, her tone turning a little cool.

Buffy notes the change, and is a little… worried. Did she hit a sore spot, or something?

"Hey, Will… I'm sorry…I was only kidding" Buffy apologizes.

Willow put on a smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes

" Hey, no big. Maybe we should get going. You said there was trouble. Maybe I can help… that's what you're here for, right?" Willow is definitely cooler now.

Willow starts towards the luggage carousel. Buffy looks at Faith, and asks silently 'What did I do?' Faith shrugs 'Haven't a clue'.

They follow Willow to claim their luggage.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The ride to Salem was…quiet. Maybe a bit too quiet. Buffy and Faith both attempted to engage Willow in conversation, but it was a wasted effort. Best they got was one few word answer. Mostly it was one word, or grunts or a shrug. Buffy was definitely worried.

I don't get it. I mean, she seemed just like Will when we first greeted. All smiles and happiness and stuff. But then, she just got… cold. After she found out about Faith and me. C'mon, does she still have a grudge with Faith? After all this time. This is just plain silly. No, this is stupid. And so unfair. I mean, when she was with Kennedy, did I go all cold to her? No. I mean, I didn't get buddy-buddy with Kennedy, but I didn't freeze her out, either. And this is so not like Willow, anyway. She usually is the first to be all friendly-like, and forgiving. So, why is she still so…off with Faith?

Maybe it's the fact I'm with Faith. Maybe she is wigged that I …well, like at least this woman. But, that just doesn't make sense either. I mean, I thought she, off all my friends, would be ok with this. Sigh. Go figure.

And she got so touchy when Faith and I kidded about getting her a woman. What's that about, anyway?

I hope she gets over it. I mean, geeze. The comment  about why we're here. Sure, we need her help, but I want my friend too. I love my Will. She's been my bud forever. We've been apart too long. I was hoping we could get our friendship back.

(shrug) Maybe she just isn't interested in being friends anymore. Maybe she…just has moved on.

I hope not. I hope we can be buds again. But I can't force her. I mean, she has her own life. But that would suck

That would so totally suck.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

They reach Willow's house in Salem in about an hour. They unload the luggage, and the two slayers start taking it inside.

Willow has one of those great old Cape Cods overlooking the Bay. It has 3 bedrooms, and is modestly but tastefully furnished. Everywhere there are reminders of the Wicca influence. Which really contrasts the computers she has about, necessary to her Business. The colors, décor, and furnishing just say "Willow" to anyone who knows her.

" I prepared two rooms for you, but I guess you'll only be needing one now" Willow says. " We can use the other to store the luggage. Best that way, probably. The rooms are not on the large side." 

" I'll start putting the luggage away" Buffy says, grabbing some cases. "Wanna give me a hand, Faith?" She asks.

"Actually, B. If you can handle it alone, I kinda like to have a little chat with Red here" Faith replies.

Buffy arches a brow. But she shrugs, and says " Yeah, no big. I can do this"

Faith has been sizing up what happened, and has pretty much put 2 and 2 together. She saw the way Willow acted around Buffy, and saw how she looked at her. She knew that look. She also knew she had to try to do something here. It was important to both of them that they don't have this 'thing' between them.

" So, Red, you and me. Where can we chat?" Faith asks

"Here?" Willow replies. Not all that eager to chat with Faith.

"Uh… no Red, somewhere Buffy free I think is better," Faith replies.

Willow looks at Faith, shrugs and points to the kitchen. She leads , and Faith follows close behind.

"Ok, Faith. Here we are. What do you want to 'chat' about?" Willow asks. Her tone is neutral, and not particularly interested.

" Oh, I dunno, Red. Birds. Bees. The weather. How long you been in love with Buffy" Faith drops the bomb.

Willow goes pale. The recovers. Her eyes get a little hard, and her smile is frozen

" You're nuts, Faith. I'm not in love with Buffy" Willow replies. Yeah, sure.

" Yeah, Red, and I'm still a virgin" Faith retorts. Then she softens it a little. " Look, Red, not all of us are as blind as Blondie is. I see how you look at her. I see what happens when she touches or hugs you. God, if she ever kissed you, you'd faint."

Willow gives Faith a look. " Well, that's not likely to happen in this lifetime. And it really doesn't matter, does it? She loves you, Faith, not me"

" Look, Red, I'm not going to sit here and apologize for loving Buffy. I'm not gonna say I'm sorry that she returns those feelings. But I do understand what you feel, Red. I know what it's like to be stupid over the blonde. And it wasn't sudden for me, girlfriend. I was in love with her back in prison. Though I didn't admit it to myself."

" I was in love with her back in high school" Willow admits, her shell cracking a little. "Took me awhile to figure it out, too"

"Yeah, B. has that power to worm her way into your heart, before you can guard against it. Damn her" Faith says. But she's smiling.

"It's so damned unfair, Faith. I'm sorry, but it's just not right. I mean, I was  always there for her, always. Even when you went all evil and stuff. I was with her. I … I loved her forever, and she never noticed. Never reciprocated. You come along, all cute and sexy and hot, and she goes for you. Even back then, I saw something going on. Damn , damn , damn. Just not fair at all." Willow slumps over, defeated. Faith makes to come over, and put an arm around her, but Willow gives her a " don't, please just don't" look. Faith backs off.

"Ok, ok Will, got it" Faith says

" So, Faith. The point of this? To rub my nose in it? To humiliate me? Ok, done. You did. So, why not just leave me be?" Willow says, her voice  harsh.

" No, Red. That's not the point. Look, I'm sorry Buffy can be incredibly blind. She can't see sometimes what's going on around her. But, that also isn't the point."

" If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me.  I know we aren't friends, never really have been. But you and Buffy are friends… good friends. Do you really want to throw that away?" Faith asks

" No" Willow replies, quietly.

" Ok, then. If  you're pissed about something, see me, ok? Don't make Buffy feel bad. Right now, she's scared, and needing you bad. Yes, you. This is something I can't give her, but you can. So, don't blow this Red. By being jealous of me. Buffy and I have one thing, and you and Buffy have something special too. Something Buffy and I probably never have. If you really love her like you say, Red, you'll stop freezing her out. Ok?"

Willow looks at the floor.

God, I hate it when your right, Faith. Grrrrrr.

"Ok, you're right. I've been acting stupid." Willow admits.

Before Willow can stop her, Faith comes over and hugs her. She plants a little kiss on her cheek

"It's ok, Red. Love does that to ya." Faith grins at her.

"You ever hurt her, Faith, and I'll have to turn you into a toad, you know" Willow grins a small grin back at her.

" Ok, but make sure it's a hot toad with superpowers, got it Red?" Faith is grinning wider. She pats Willow on the shoulder, and leaves to help Buffy with the luggage.

Willow sits in the kitchen, rubbing her cheek. She's baffled.

One of these days, she'll figure out Faith.

She hopes.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Ok, everybody who doesn't know that Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own these characters please raise your hands. We have a 'special' class for you after school.

Author's note: So, it gets more complicated. Willow in the mix? Ok, ok, Faith Fans. I've not done anything evil… yet. I mean if you didn't get Willow's feelings about Buffy from the show, and subsequent fiction on here, including my own writings … shame , shame.  And anyway, why would Buffy cheat on Faith? C'mon now.  Put down those rocks , drop the rotting produce, and let's just see what happens, ok?

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 15

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

London, England, late in the evening.

Rupert Giles has been sitting in the study for hours. Despite the stack of books he has on the table beside his chair, he seems to be staring more into space than studying. The room, lit by a few lamps, is a mixture of light and shadows. It rather reflects his thoughts.

He was tired. Tired of the politics of the Watcher's Council. He had spent over 2 years now organizing and rebuilding it, and he was ready for something else. The Ripper in him demanded something besides the faceless paper pushing that he had become more and more ensnared in. He craved field work again. Something with a bit more action than approving the latest budget or planning the newest watcher retreat. He hadn't realized how much he missed it 'til Buffy left London to return to L.A. and he missed her. Missed her like he hadn't expected to miss her. And now this troubling news about her.

He had a phone call from Angel the other day, and it still disturbed him.  He was still having problems with what Angel had relayed to him. It just didn't fit. But it wasn't like Angel to make up stories. Especially not about Buffy. And that worried him.

He found it hard to believe that Buffy and Faith had done what Angel had said. Especially, Buffy. Not without at least a good reason. Buffy could be impulsive; so could Faith. But they both usually worked out of good motives. So why had they broken into a secret facility and ransacked that office? It wasn't just out of meanness, or spite. Something was going on, something that nagged at Giles.

He had been reading of late from the _Katsui_ Chronicles. They were a set of predictions from a blind seer in the early part of the Christian era. The meanings were often obscure, and the details were sketchy. A good majority of the council dismissed them as the ravings of a madman. But Giles had studied them closer, and they had a troubling accuracy of those events they foretold.

One in particular had struck him. It was one of the last in the Chronicles:

_After the end of days shall come a time of  quiet. There has been the defeat of a great evil. However, do not be blind. Be wary, for in the darkness there builds a great force, one to destroy the light._

_It is an old force, one as old as time itself. It be as old as time, and light, and darkness. It comes out of the Chaos to rule this reality, to make the light dark._

_It shall come from sources not known, or knowable. It will take the form of pleasing things, until that time that it will reveal itself._

_There shall arise out of the light a force, a force of champions. They will be led by one of the light, one of the dark, and one of the earth. In the center shall be the one who was not, but is now, who was born of the light, but not born by the light._

_A great battle shall be enjoined. Many will be lost, and many will be found . All is not clear how it will end. I cannot see what the outcome will be, it's obscured in the fog of time_

_Beware, for those you trust may betray you. They who seek power over the darkness may find themselves enwrapped within it._

He sighed. It was all so damned confusing. Some parts were clear, some obscure in meaning. It would require more study, and cross referencing with other texts. But the last line in particular chilled him.

Who was he to trust, then? It had been a long hard road to trust Angel again after what had happened when he lost his soul in Sunnydale. But over the years he had proven time and again that with a soul, he was a valuable ally. Yet, for some reason, he seems to have turned away from Buffy. And from Faith. And that was particularly disturbing. He had been the one champion of Faith's redemption. Even after what she had done to him and Buffy, he had made it a priority to bring Faith back from the darkness.

And he had to admit, he was still a little leery of the resurrection of Cordelia. Not of herself : She seemed to be as he remembered her. Perhaps a bit more depth, but he supposed a coma, and life, would do that to you. What bothered him, he supposed, was that she recovered so quickly. She had been in a coma for a long time. It takes time and rehabilitation to come back from something like that. But she had made a remarkable, nearly instant, recovery.

And then there was the sudden blossoming of a relationship between him and Cordelia. He had known Angel for years. And Angel, despite leaving Buffy in Sunnydale …my… What? Nearly 7 years ago, had carried a torch for Buffy. Always. But now it seemed all twisted up. 

And he had to admit, he did NOT like Angel working at the offices of Wolfram and Hart. He didn't care that Angel was CEO, that he had the run of the place, that he was , as the Americans liked to put it, "In Charge". Working at a place like that, dedicated to evil in so many dimensions, had to have an effect on the soul.

He had to think. Something just didn't set right with him. In all the time he had known Buffy, she always did what was best. Even when it cost her. Cost her too much.  Even with her illness, he couldn't believe she was just acting irrationally, or from a bad place, a paranoid place. No, something just wasn't right here, and he had to get to the core of it.

It was getting late. Maybe time for bed. He took out his watch. The one Buffy had given him. He opened the face, and the inscription on the face hit him particularly hard at this moment:

_To Giles:_

_The man who has been more than a father to me_

_Love always, Buffy_

No, time for thinking was over. She needed his help, they needed his help. Whether they realized it yet, or not.

He picked up the phone, and dialed a number. He hoped she was in. somehow, he felt, from reading the prophecy, that both Buffy and he would be needing her close at hand.

The person on the other end of the phone answered, and he said. " Hello. I think you better come to London"

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Breakfast in Willow's kitchen the next morning was somewhat… uncomfortable.

Ok, maybe that is a tad bit of an understatement.

We had one slayer(blonde)still trying to figure out why her best friend was running hot and cold. We had a second slayer(Not Blonde) who knew what was what, but also knew some serious talking had to go on here, or something was going to pop. Then we had a certain Red-headed Wicca who was trying once again to subsume her feelings, and was overcompensating. She hit all the right notes, but they didn't ring true.

" So…uh… did you both sleep ok last night? I mean… I know the mattress is a little lumpy. I keep meaning to get that taken care of, but I just don't have many guests over, so I never really think about it. It's not like the old days. Like when Buffy and I had sleep-overs, and  such. I really ramble around this house alone a lot. Ya know? That's me, ramble girl. I mean, not rambling girl, but…well… I guess I just don't think about such things much. Well, sometimes, but not when it's handy…you know?" Willow is definitely in babble mode.

" It was fine, Will. No lumpiness here. We slept fine" Buffy smiles at Willow, and is still trying to figure out what's going on. Sometimes, for being as smart as she is, she can be rather… blind.

" Yeah, Red, it was great, all nice and comfy" Faith said, thinking Oh, brother. Mattresses?

Small pause while someone tries to figure something to say.

" So…cold this time of year, here. I mean, I thought London was cold. But Massachusetts gets really cold, huh?" Buffy says, trying to break the silence. 

" Oh…yeah, it gets really cold. I mean, not as bad here, close to the ocean, but inland… yeah, lots of snow and ice and stuff. Can be really chilly, you know ? Was tough at first, but I'm pretty used to it by now. Guess you two really feeling it though, considering …you know, California, sunshine, no snow…that kinda stuff" Willow can't help babbling, especially when she is nervous…and she is a whole lotta nervous. Considering Faith knows what she knows, and is right there, and can say something at any time, and that would be a disaster,  …God, she has me doing it now.

As for Faith…well, she is not known for her patience. Right now, it's more like disgust.  She has to get out of here, before she blows her top. And these two need to have a little talk. Bad.

Faith stand up from the table, and heads to grab her coat.

" Look , guys, I think I need to take a little walk. You know, look around some. Get my blood pumping. It would probably be a good time for you two to have a little chat" Faith looks pointedly at Willow, who looks away. "Yeah, you know…about old times. So, I'll be back later. Seeya." Faith makes a quick exit, before someone can stop her. ' Right now the cold air seems a whole lot better than  this place' she mutters to herself.

The kitchen is quiet while both women watch the departing Faith. Willow gets up, and starts collecting the plate. She has lost her appetite, and figures everyone else has, also. She takes them to the sink, and makes like she is busy with them. Buffy looks at her, and her confusion grows. Buffy really doesn't like being confused. 

She gets up and stands behind Willow. She watches her. She can sense she is avoiding something. Ok, enough. Just ask.

"Ok, Will… what is it? What's going on?" Buffy blurts out. Never one to tiptoe around things. Much.

Willow makes like she is busy, and answers offhandedly " Going on? I don't know what you mean, Buffy"

" Ok, Will. Color me stupid, if you want. But you've been acting strange since Faith and I got here. I mean, it's been hot and cold running Willow. So, what's the deal, Will?"

" Well, Gee, Buffy. I mean, all of a sudden, out of the blue, you call telling me you and Faith are in some kind of trouble. Of course I want to help, but I mean …I really don't know anything about it, or what * I  * can do. And then here you are, and all. And I've been Busy at work, and with the Wicca, so it's like been hard trying to rearrange everything and all… you know?" Willow is avoiding the issue.

" Will… If  Faith and I being here is … interfering with something, …ummm…well… we can find someplace  in town to stay." Buffy is a little hurt, but covers. " Sorry, Will, just thought you being my best friend, it wouldn't be a deal. But…"

"No, no…Buffy, plenty of room. Not a big. Just…well, best friend. Right. But, like, when was the last time we really were best friends, Buffy? I mean really? Two years ago, more? Things change, Buffy, people change. So…"

" Naw, Will. I'm really sorry. Of course you have a life. It was rude of me to just expect you to drop everything" Buffy says, smarting a little under the criticism. " Faith and I will go. Sorry. Wrong of me to involve you in this " Buffy smiles, but her heart is more than a little wounded. But , hey, deserved it, right? I haven't been that great a friend to Will. 

"No, Buffy. You're both here. Lets do this. Maybe I can help. Don't know, but until I know the story, guess I won't know, huh?" Will says, trying to bridge the chasm she has just dug between herself and Buffy.

" Will. You made some good points, and you're right. I was wrong. Thinking things would always be the same between us. Dumb me" Buffy grins, a little sadly. " This really doesn't concern you, and maybe best you're not involved. Could get ugly, and I'd hate to see you get hurt." Buffy doesn't realize the subtext here, and how each of those points are like darts to Willow's heart. " One other thing, Will, Ok? Friend to friend. I mean, I'm still your friend, in some way, right?"

"Buffy… I didn't mean…" Willow starts, really afraid now. Buffy stops her.

"Hey, Will. It's ok. I got it" Buffy smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes " Look, All I'm saying is, maybe you spend too much time by yourself? I don't know. I could be way off here. But in the short time we've been here, and from what you say, seems like you don't…aren't making…well…don't have someone close you can talk to. Like we used to do. I'm not even saying a lover, or anything. Just someone you can talk to, when you need to. Ok?" Buffy stops. This really hurts. She sighs. " Well… anyway, I'll pack our stuff and when Faith gets back from her walk, we'll be off. Could you drive us back into town so we can catch a bus back to Boston? I'd appreciate it." Buffy says. She starts to head up the stairs.

"No. Buffy. Wait. Please!" Willow calls out to her. She is dying here. She has to say something, or she's about to lose Buffy completely.

"Yeah, Will?" Buffy asks. She really doesn't want to drag this out. Hurts too much.

"Look… Buffy. I … I haven't….I'm not…"Willow stutters out.

"Will…it's ok. You can tell me anything. You know that. That hasn't changed, I hope" Buffy encourages her.

" I love you, Buffy" Will blurts it out.

" Will, I love you too" Buffy says, not getting the meaning of what Will said.

"No…I  love you Buffy" Will says, trying to make it clearer.

"Will…I love you too. I mean, you're still my friend" Buffy smiles.

Willow is done. She just confessed her feelings to Buffy, and Buffy goes blithely on, like they're talking about the weather. Damn her, anyway

"Dammit Buffy, I can't believe you. Don't you listen? God, I swear, sometimes Buffy Summers, talking to you is like talking to a wall" Willow is pissed off royally. " You know, maybe you're right. Maybe you and Faith should go. Please. Go!"

 She storms up the stairs, to her room, and slams the door. She leaves behind a very confused Buffy.

"What? What did I do now?" Buffy looks after Willow, perplexed. 

Buffy looks up the stairs, at Willow's now shut door. 

Think, think Buffy. She told you something, and you're just not connecting the dots. Ok. Lets see. We went through that whole friend thing. I … don't think that was it, though. It wasn't 'til after she stopped me on the stairs that she got… upset. Ok, what did we say?

I told her she can tell me anything. Alright, that is true enough. Then she said  " I love you" and I said " I love you". Ok. Then she said it again " No…I love you Buffy". At that moment, the pieces fall into place

I love you Buffy

oh

OH!

Oh my god, I'm so stupid. Buffy, what, is the blonde reaching the brain now? Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!!

Buffy, feeling somewhat chastened, and very, very, foolish, goes upstairs.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy stands at Willow's door, undecided. Should she knock, or wait for her to come out? Or just run now? She sighs, knowing no matter what, this probably isn't going to be pleasant. Oh, and she's kicking herself for being so stupid and insensitive.

" Will? Willow? Can we talk?" Buffy knocks, and speaks through the door.

" Go away Buffy. Please? You don't get it. You never 'get it'. So, just go and let me alone, ok? There's nothing to talk about"

" You're right, Will. I didn't get it. But I got it now. And we need to talk about it" Buffy says, hoping that Willow will open the door

" What did you 'get' Buffy?" Willow calls through the door

" That you love me, Will" Buffy calls back. She hears an exasperated sigh. " That your IN love with me, Will" She amends.

There is silence on the other side of the door. Then Buffy hears the lock click, and  after a bit, " Come in"

Buffy walks in. Will is on the bed. She sees Willow has been crying, her eyes are red and puffy. She also sees a few things have gotten broken in the room…she suspects in the last few minutes. She stands, away from the bed, nearly in the doorway, and faces Willow.

" I'm sorry, Willow. I didn't realize how you felt" Buffy apologizes, feeling every bit the idiot.

"Well, I guess that's no big secret, is it, Buffy?" Willow replies. Her voice is calm, but there are undertones of anger, hurt and a trace of bitterness.

" Well, Willow, you haven't exactly been upfront with me about it, have you?" Buffy retorts, a bit stung by Willow's tone. " I mean, was I supposed to read your mind?" 

"No," Willow admits, but then flings at her, " But maybe you could have opened your eyes a little to what was in front of your nose"

"What? What do you mean?" 

" My Goddess, Buffy. Are you really that naïve? Think, Buffy, think. I could've gone to what? Dozens of schools, including Oxford, Harvard and Yale. But where did I go ? University of Sunnydale. Why? Do you really think it was for the academic program? That day, at Sunnydale High, under the tree, when I told you? That I was going to UC Sunnydale, and I saw your face light up, and you said " I think I love you, Will" I almost stopped breathing. 'Til I realized you meant " I love you like a friend, Will". But for a second there, Buffy, my heart was beating so hard, I thought it would beat out of my chest. I was sooo happy. Even when I realized what you meant, I still was happy, cause you were so happy."

"When Oz broke up with me, left me to 'find himself' and I moved into your dorm room. Don't you think I …oh, god, I wanted so much for you to 'comfort' me, hoping the 'comfort' would lead to more. And it didn't"

"Then I fell for Tara. And there is no question I loved her deeply, honestly, with my soul. But still, still you haunted me, invaded my thoughts, and were a big part of my life. Tara was always afraid, rightly so, that I was advancing too fast in the arts, using them without thinking. And why? Because I wanted to be more powerful, more useful… to you. You needed me, and I needed you to need me."

"When you leaped off that tower, to stop the dimensional portals from opening, I thought I would die too. I couldn't conceive of a life without you in it, Buffy. Why do  you think I risked using  Osiris to bring you back? Any clue how dangerous that was? But … living without you wasn't living."

" When Tara left me after casting the Tabula Rasa spell, god, I needed you the most then. I needed someone to tell me it would be ok. Everything would be ok. And…you tried, I guess in your way. But I needed so much more. I guess it …wasn't something you could give."

"Aw, what's the point of this? I could go on and on, and still it would lead to the same thing. You don't feel for me, like I feel for you. You never have, Buffy, and I guess it hurt too much to realize that. I rationalized it with " Well, she simply isn't … into women" and that helped. A lot. But then, you show up with Faith, and you're together. And that just knocked me way back. It was like being punched in the jaw and stomach, at the same time. So yeah, I been acting weird. I think I have reason to."

Buffy is silent. She walks to a chair, and sits down. She stares at the floor. Willow just watches her, waiting for some kind of reaction. Finally, in a very quiet voice, Buffy says " It might not have been 100 percent one sided, Will". Willow doesn't say anything, but just stares at her. She continues. " I…might…ok, truth, I did have feelings for you too, Will. Problem was, unlike you, I wasn't brave about …my sexuality. I didn't …couldn't…at that time. It wasn't 'til after we defeated the first, and I started to realize what love really meant,  that I could face those kind of feelings in me. But by that time I was facing other issues". Buffy halts….then explains briefly to Willow about her breakdown in London. Willow hadn't known about it, and was wide-eyed. " Until I was …on my way to recovery, I wasn't ready for love of any kind. And then I got the assignment in L.A. and I …renewed my acquaintance with Faith, and one thing…just led to another, and we fell in love, Will."

Both women are silent for awhile, then Willow speaks up. 

" Buffy, I'm sorry. About everything. But , frankly? I can't see you together with Faith. I… I don't hate her or anything, but it's just too painful to watch you two together. I … hate to say this, but it's probably best you both leave. I know someone in town, owns one of the Inns. Nice one. She owes me lots of favors. I'm sure I can persuade her to take you in without it costing anything. I still want to help you…help you both with what's going on. So, we can meet like on neutral ground, or even here. But I just …can't have you both here." Willow is feeling real small, but it's true, nonetheless

" I… I got it Will. Of course. I'll pack our stuff, and we'll be gone, 'K?"  Buffy turns towards the door, and stops. She just stands, staring at the wall. Her shoulders slump, and she starts to sob. Willow looks at her, and her heart melts.

"Oh, Buffy, I'm…sorry baby. I …" She starts, but Buffy waves her off.

" No…I'm sorry Will. I… It just hurts that I'm losing my best friend. Someone who's been a large part of my life for so much of my life." Buffy clenches her fists, trying to hold back the tears, but it really, really hurts. She can't stop them, and the tears just roll down her cheeks. She starts for the door, but Willow stops her. She turns Buffy around, and takes her into a hug. She comforts Buffy, and then says. " Buffy, we don't have to hate each other. Just…you gotta understand how I feel here." Buffy nods, but the tears just keep coming. Willow starts to brush them away…but the closeness of Buffy, and the emotion, just makes her stop thinking. She starts to kiss away Buffy's tears… then she captures Buffy's lips in a kiss. At first, Buffy doesn't react…but then she panics , big time. She breaks the embrace, and backs away from Will. Her face is a mask of confusion.

"Will…. NO! this can't….this can't happen. I…I …I better go…get packed. I gotta go" Buffy turns, and practically runs out of the room.

Willow just watches her go, her heart breaking.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Does it ever get easier?


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Well, I guess I will once again state the obvious. Joss Whedon owns them, Mutant Enemy owns them, and I just hang in here trying to write about them.

Author's Note: I know three people that really want to be playing " Anywhere but here" right now. Wanna guess who?

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 16

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

He sat alone in his office, staring out the window at the sunlight. Even after two years, it still unnerved him to be by a window during the daylight. Without curtains. He kept expecting to start burning. But not here, not in this building.

He felt more trapped by this building than ever. It wore on him, being here. The evil permeated it, fed it, and still he tried to make good out of bad.  After two years, he still questioned why he made this deal…

Connor

He felt the sigh rise up in him. Despite how badly they had gotten along, how Connor had tried to kill him, entomb him, and did other unpleasant things to him, Angel still missed him. But, he knew he did the best for Connor, by giving him a normal life. Letting him be happy. But he wished he had someone he could talk to about it, nonetheless. But no one remembered Connor, his son, except Angel.

So, he took the deal. He accepted being CEO of a multi-dimensional 'law' firm that was the advocate of evil. And he tried to do good out of it. Use the resources, the vast resources at hand, to make a difference. But despite what he did, it seemed he took 3 steps forward, then 2 steps back. Or sometimes, 2 steps forward, and 3 steps back. And the frustration , the constant balancing act, wore on him.

They did bring back Cordelia. That was a plus. … wasn't it ? She seemed to be herself. Mostly. Ok, there are bound to be changes when you're a higher being, possessed by a power that be, and then are in a coma for nearly a year. And they were building a relationship, that seemed to be going well. And maybe, if the mystics could find a way to defeat the clause, they could build a more … intimate relationship. So why was he getting a Buffy-like "Ewwww" ?

And why did he feel dirty? To his marrow, to his soul. Like something was acting on him, making him do things he really didn't want to do? Take actions that left an aftertaste of remorse? Make decisions he… regretted?

Angel opened his desk drawer, and pulled out two framed pictures. One of a dark haired woman, with dark eyes, and a wicked smile, and the other… the other that still made his heart sing and burn, at the same time. He gazed at the pictures for awhile, and thought back to the day that he fired Faith. I know. There was evidence she was acting out, acting …crazy. A paper trail a mile wide, it seemed. Witnesses. But it just didn't add up. Not with what he knew about her, how she had changed herself. We caught her and Buffy in the act. Even then, Cordy tried to reason with her, but she rejected it, and left. Why? I know she felt the same I did about what we were doing. Why would she just throw it away like that, over some imagined insult? It just didn't make sense.

And why was Buffy with her? I mean, it might seem more logical if she were alone. But Buffy was there with her, believing her. So, why didn't I believe her too? Ok, I admit with Buffy, being with Faith…I mean, having a relationship with Faith…just say it , Liam,  being in a romantic relationship with Faith… that kinda stirred up some negative feelings. Jealous much, Angel?  Am I that petty?  I said, get on with your life…what? 6 years ago, when I left… and I'm still jealous when she does just that?

But if I believed what they said, then I have to believe that Cordelia isn't…real. And I can't believe that. It just …

Something smells like a fish left in the sun three days. Something is not right.

Angel thinks for awhile longer, then makes a decision. The first in a long time that seems unequivocally right.

He picks up a phone, and dials a number. When it's answered, he says to the person on the other end " I need to speak to you. But not on this line. Where can we meet?"

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

She is in a bright place. She is kneeling, enjoying the warmth of the light.

The light is so bright, she has to close her eyes. It's blinding. As she feels the light warm her, she feels it burning away the dark places in her soul. She feels incredibly light, free of the darkness of her past sins. She is happy, she is free.

But a chill wind blows through, chilling her. She can see the light fading behind her eyes. She opens them, and sees she is holding her hands up in a gesture like supplication. But in her hands is a knife. The knife has gouts of blood on it, and the blood is flowing down over her hands and arms. The light is much dimmer now, but she can make out what is around her.

Bodies. Lots of bodies. All dead, all killed by a blade.

She recognizes some of them. Willow, Xander, Giles… all dead. Oz, Joyce Summers, Dawn Summers. Dead. She stands, looking around at the multitude of bodies, when she hears someone behind her. She whirls , knife out, and it sinks into the person.

Buffy.

Buffy's eyes go wide. She looks at Faith, then the knife in her stomach, and back at Faith. She manages to say one word, "Faith?" and then the light goes out of her eyes, and she falls to her knees. Then onto her face.

Faith stares at the blade, now covered afresh with Buffy's blood. She feels a scream coming from her gut, low at first but then getting louder " no, no, no, nooooooNOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

She looks up, and sees Richard Wilkins standing there, smiling at her " Welcome home, Faith. My, you did such a fine job here, I can't tell you how proud I feel." He has a plate of cookies in his hands " Have a cookie, Faith" He smiles at her, offering her the plate.

No, No, No, NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Faiths eyes fly open. She is covered in sweat. She is trembling. Beside her, Buffy is sleeping peacefully, her arm around Faiths waist, her head nestled on Faith's shoulder. Slowly, she extricates herself from Buffy, trying not to disturb her. She gets up, and goes to the window. She looks out of the window of the Inn they are staying in, and sees the moonlight reflecting on the snow. Her expression seems blank, but slowly a tear, followed by another, and then another, falls onto her cheek. She bites her lip to keep back the sobs, but the tears keep flowing.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy's eyes gradually open. She sees Faith kneeling beside the bed, watching her. She has a crooked smile on her face.

" Hey, sleepy, time to get up. We agreed we'd meet Red in an hour" Faith leans in and gives Buffy a little smooch, which Buffy eagerly returns. They kiss little kisses a few more times, then Faith pulls Buffy into a sitting position. Buffy makes a protesty noise, but Faith insists.

" C'mon , Blondie. Deals a deal. We gotta get on with this, or we'll never get this finished. Get up, take a shower, and lets motor, girlfriend" Faith teases Buffy.

Even with the concealer  Faith is wearing, Buffy can see dark rings under her eyes, and that her eyes are a bit puffy.

"Faith, honey? Are you ok? … you didn't sleep again, did you?" Buffy asks, concerned. She is afraid to ask about the crying.

" No big, B. you know. Sometimes, sleep and me don't get along too well " Faith grins.

"What's wrong, Faith?" Buffy asks.

"Nothing, B. Just some bad dreams." Faith replies. But it's more.

Buffy and Willow were acting so weird when she got back from her "walkabout". And then there was the change of address…to this Inn. Rather than staying at Red's. Buffy was almost throwing things in the cases, trying to get out of there. And the way they looked at each other. Willow looking confused, and hurt, and guilty. Buffy looking Angry…and hurt… and guilty. Buffy was all for calling a cab, until Willow practically forced Buffy into her car to take her here. And then the rather stilted conversation, ending with them agreeing to meet tomorrow back at Red's. All that evening, Buffy had acted distracted and distant, until Faith had practically had to do a lap dance for Buffy to get her attention. That finally seemed to break the spell. She had responded eagerly…almost frantically, to the lovemaking. But…Faith felt an uneasiness in her gut.

" Shit. I guess my little plan for them to have a little chat didn't go so well" Faith berated herself. " I don't know what happened, but everything seems weirder now than before." Faith had a feeling she really didn't want to know. This is one of those times that ignorance is bliss… yeah, right.

When Buffy awoke, she was hoping that it had all been a dream. That they were still in L.A. That none of this had happened, and that they were still… anywhere but here. But, as soon as her eyes opened, she knew it wasn't a dream.

She got out of bed and started running around, getting herself ready. But her mind is elsewhere

She so didn't want today to come. 

Why couldn't things just be the way they were? Before they came here? Will was my best friend, my confidant. I could talk to her about anything, and not worry. Now, it's all gone to hell.

Now it's gonna be all weird, and awkward, and difficult. And Faith is gonna pick it up in a second… hell, probably already has. Shit.

Why did Will have to do it? Why? Why did she have to kiss me?

I thought maybe we could come to some terms, something. Til then. Til she kissed me.

Then that all blew to hell. Cause she scared me.

Scared me silly.

Cause some little part of me didn't want her to stop.

Fickle much, Buffy?

And now Faith looks like she slept maybe 3 minutes last night, and has been crying. God, what is that about? I hope not what I'm thinking.

" B.? B?!" Faith calls out to Buffy.

"Huh?" Buffy answers, her thoughts interrupted.

"I hope you're close to ready. Red's here" 

Damn. Here we go.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Faith and Buffy troop downstairs to meet Willow. After the usual polite greeting stuff, they get into Willow's car,  and head for Willow's house. The tension in the car is thick, and Faith is trying to puzzle out in her head exactly what happened between these two yesterday. As they continue to drive, and the conversation never gets started, much less lag, her mind comes up with all sorts of explanations, each worse than the last. It's worrying her, and when she's worried, she's nervous. She starts drumming her fingers, and is getting twitchy. Her mind is going to all sorts of fantastic scenarios, and all of them are getting her more and more upset.

When they finally reach Willow's,  Faith is about ready to rip the car door off.  She jumps out of the car, and slams the door… loudly. Buffy and Willow look at her, startled. Faith turns to them, and lets 'em have it.

" Ok, ENOUGH! You two have been driving me bonkers since  we came here. Now there is this thing about yesterday. I come back here, and it's like …..What the hell happened yesterday, anyway?" Faith is an inch from blowing.

Buffy looks at the ground, and Willow is looking away from Faith. Slowly, she tells Faith about what happened. The argument, the confessions, the kiss. The kiss.

Kiss? That's it? That's what this is all about? Faith is not sure if she wants to scream , or….

Faith looks at Buffy, then Willow, then starts to laugh. It starts slowly, then builds. Buffy and Willow look at her like she has gone whacko.

" You two slay me" Faith gets out between laughs. " My god. Do you have any idea what you have put me through? What kinda thoughts I been having? And all this… is about some kiss?" Faith is nearly bent over from laughing.

" My god, get OVER yourselves. If the two of you think I'm gonna make myself crazy about a silly kiss…well…you really are nuts, the both of you.

"B., my dear sweet love. You're sometimes the most incredibly blind person I know. I figured out, in what? 30 minutes after we landed what Red here felt about you. Didn't I, Will?" Faith looks at Will…who nods and looks a bit embarrassed.

" Oh, and I know that you have some feelings for her, B. My god, she has been your best friend for what? 10 years? If she had been my best friend for 10 years, I would have feelings for her too. You have a history. Ok, I get that. But… do you really think I'm so insecure, that I'm gonna go all postal over a KISS?" Faith rolls her eyes, and shakes her head.

" You two had me thinking you wore out a mattress or two while I was gone. Geeze. I swear, this is what happens when you bottle up your feelings so long. It makes EVERYBODY crazy!!!"

Buffy and Willow are staring at the ground. Both looking chastened, and more than a little embarrassed.

" Ok. Let's see. B., you and Red kissed. And you and I've kissed. Well, then, just to make it all even, you know what that means" Faith gets a wicked grin on her face. Willow, on the other hand, gets this wide eyed look, and an uh oh look on her face. She starts retreating a little.

" Oh, no you don't" Faith says, and is next to Willow before she can retreat much further.

" Sorry, Red, but you asked for this" With that, she takes Willow in an embrace, and lays a smooch on her. Willow kinda tries to fight it off, but gives up after a few seconds.

Buffy stands there, looking astonished. 

Faith grins at Willow, and pats her cheek. " Not bad, Red, not bad at all"

Now both Willow and Buffy look at Faith likes she hit her head a few times too many.

Faith turns her back to them, and says " Ya know what else I gotta say to you two?" She bends over , and scoops up some snow. She pats it into a ball, turns around and flings it at Buffy " Yo , B." THWACK. She hits Buffy dead center with a snowball. Buffy looks at her…then looks at where the snowball hit…she looks back up, and she has an evil grin on her face. She quickly bends over, scoops up some snow, and returns fire. THWACK…right in Faith's face. Faith grins, and says " Nice one, B." She then scoops up more snow, and THWACK…a side shot to Buffy's head. Soon, the two of them are not even bothering with making snowballs, they are just flinging snow at each other. Willow starts to interrupt them  " Hey, you guys, knock it off…" But at that point, both turn on her and get her involved. " Hey…HEY…no fair 2 against 1" she cries, but then starts throwing snowballs at each of them. It degenerates into a general snow fight, each starting to laugh and act like 8 year olds. They soon are drenched, and falling on the ground, and rolling in it, and no one cares. Because all of a sudden, everyone isn't worrying anymore , but actually having a good time. Willow finally puts an end to it by dumping a big chuck of snow on each of the slayers, then running inside to dry off. The slayers follow, but not before they get a few more shots, and a couple more laughs in.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

After they have dried off, and borrowed some of Will's dry clothes( Faith wound up with the coveralls… and threatened them both with a slow painful death if they ever told ANYONE she wore them), they sit down to discuss what had happened in L.A.

They tell her about The Program, how Angel was involved. They also tell her about Cordelia, and the strange way she had been acting… and how she admitted to them she was a demon. Finally they mention the threats on their lives and reputations.

Willow looks at them, a little confused. " Gee, guys. I'm not really sure what I can do for you. I mean, I can do some spells and stuff, try maybe to figure out what kind of demon this is. Or protection spells. Even a binding spell. But mostly, I would have to be there, in L.A. to do those. I can call around to some L.A. covens, see if they can help you out…."

"Actually, Will. What I need to know first is… do you believe us?" Buffy asks.

" It's kinda …strange, I must admit" Willow says, " But I lived in Sunnydale too. So, strange is nothing new"

" Here's the deal, Red. They are making it out like B and I are …nuts" Faith interjects. " Problem is, with my history, and …did you tell her, B?" Faith asides to Buffy, who nods, " Well…with Buffy's breakdown, it kinda puts our credibility at less than zero. So, I guess I'm saying, we need you to vouch for us."

"Well" Willow has a grin on her face, " After what you did this morning, Faith, not sure you're not nuts"

Faith grins back " C'mon Red, admit it. It was hot, and you liked it"

Willow blushes a little, and barely nods.

Buffy, getting back on subject " Look, Will. Something is going on there. Something not good. They are taking over The Program, which means someone has plans for those secret slayer trainees. And somehow, I don't think it's for a good purpose. Matter of fact, it seems to me to have the earmarks of …." Buffy doesn't finish, but Willow gets it

" Oh, god, not again, Buffy" Willow says, getting a bit depressed.

" 'Fraid so, Will. I think we're in for another prophecy and/or  apocalypse"

" So, this means…." Willow starts

" Time to call Giles" Buffy says.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Mssr. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. I own nothing, nothing… Grrr, Arrgh.

Author's note: Well, seems the three have made it up somewhat. Lets see how long that lasts.( putting on goalie gear, just in case a few hockey pucks find their way my way). Someone mentioned that the relationship between Buffy and Willow contained lots of love, but no passion. Au contraire, mes amis. Passion is not always in your face. Sometimes passions burn low and slow. It can be exhibited in many ways, or it can be suppressed. But it's still passion, nonetheless. And I agree. I don't like everything that has gone on with our heroes, either. But who can honestly say they like everything in their life? I certainly can't.

Let's continue.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

 Chapter 17

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Cordelia Chase is walking down the hall of Wolfram and Hart, heading towards the elevator. 

She looks every bit the model of the modern young businesswoman. Smartly, but conservatively dressed. All her clothing is obviously designer, no off the rack stuff for Queen C, ever(even if Cordy doesn't live here anymore, her fashion sense remains.) There is a smile on her face, and the only thing that reveals her nervousness is the way she is running her thumb over her clenched fingers as she waits for the elevator arrive.

Once inside the conveyance, she opens her purse and removes a glowing crystal. She turns away from the doors of the elevator, and pushes a panel in the back wall. Inside is a base to put the into, along with a keypad. The characters on the keypad are not English, nor any known living language. She inserts the crystal, types out a code, and the panel closes. The elevator then begins to move.

When the doors open, it's obvious we're no longer inside the offices of Wolfram and Hart. As a matter of fact, it's not certain we are still on our plain of existence. The space is dark, lit only by a globe suspended in air, glowing a dull red. It's pulsating . as if it contained  a life of it's own. Even though there is no evident 'floor' to this space, Cordelia(for want of knowing exactly who this is, exactly) walks confidently to the globe. She places her hand upon it, and chants low beneath her breath. Out of the mass of darkness forms a shape…roughly humanoid, but not constant, it's always changing. Contained within this shape is more of the red energy, which swirls around in random patterns. The form is large; it's clearly three times the size of Cordelia.

Cordelia, in the space of the forming, has changed. Her clothes are no longer resembled  a business suit, but rather the robe of an acolyte. The robe itself is black, with red shot through it, representing the being before her. Her face is covered, and only her eyes, deep back are visible. They glow red. She puts her hands out in a supplicating gesture.

" Master. I have come to report the progress of thy plans. Things go well. We have obtained the sword of Danacles, and the cursed orb of Charnok.  We have yet to locate the Amulet of Ankarath, but we have our best out searching. Evidently, these dwellers are more clever in hiding things than we thought, but it's only a matter of time before we have it."

More in her mind, than heard, the Being replies. " Time? Time is precious. For too long have we been trapped behind the portal protecting this dimension. Too long have we been banished to the coldness of our existence. Find the Amulet, quickly. Signs point to an alignment, one that only happens once in every millennium. I do not have the patience to wait another thousand years for this time to come again. How goes the rest?"

"The Dark force is being trained well. The irony is that it was trained by our enemies, in their techniques. This will give us a tactical advantage. And we have many mystics and shamans working to enhance their powers, and alter their desires to our own. They will make a great addition to our army. And, when the time is right, they will make great vessels to host the Chaos, and give them physical form."

"And the one called by various names? Angel, Angelus, Liam? How does he progress"

Cordelia was silent here. The planned corruption of Angel's soul wasn't going as well as expected. She(it)knew the dangers of failure, and wasn't eager to incur the Being's wrath. " It comes along, just more slowly than anticipated. He is resistant to the spells, and they are having to be reconstructed to work better against him. These souls these creatures carry … are bothersome. But in the end, he will be ours."

" See that he is. He is important to our success, and to the success of the prophecy. If you fail" the Being at this point, sends out a small bit of energy to Cordelia. You can see by the reaction that it's extremely painful " You're punishment will be long".

The Being begins to expand, then is visible no longer. Cordelia …heads for the elevator, and leaves the chamber.

 You can see she is shaken. Her face reflects the fear of what failure can bring. The only evidence of the 'demonstration' is a nasty red welt on her neck. She descends in the elevator, more determined than  ever to complete her work successfully.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The man sits in the turnout on Muhlholland . He looks out at the city, his mind going over what he has learned. He is not the picture of a happy man.

Wesley Wyndam-Price  has traveled a long hard road since his days with the Watcher's Council. He is no longer the young, overeager prig that tried keep not one, but two slayers in line with the Council's wishes. He is not the sincere, but bumbling man that first came into Angel's employ many years back. And he is not the bitter man that suffered the consequences(including the still slightly visible scar on his neck) for his betrayal of Angel( though why that happened now is obscure). He is none of those men, and all of those men. Time has matured Wes. His naturally aristocratic features show a new hardness, a new leanness not present before. The lines around his eyes, and in his forehead have deepened. He no longer babbles on about obscure arcana(well, ok sometimes, but nowhere nearly as much as he used to). His face reflects a man who is more likely to think about  the consequences of his actions, and to act accordingly. His former…timidity…has been replaced by a more quiet bravery. In short, he has walked through a hell of his own making, and has come out the other side a better person.

What he has been looking into troubles him. The kind of thing that might be possessing Cordelia is no ordinary demon. Though many demons can possess a human host, very few have the intelligence to act as if no possession has taken place. And all of those are very powerful. And extremely vicious if confronted. He cannot pinpoint the exact type without more information, but he can warn Angel that he needs to proceed carefully.

A dark figure emerges from the shadows. Wes, startled, lifts the crossbow he is carrying and says low with an edge of menace  
 " Stop"

"Well, Wes, I'm happy to see you too. You can put it down now" Angel says. He's not smiling(of course, how often does he smile?).

Wes lowers the crossbow, relieved. " Angel, I wish you would stop doing that. One of these days I'm going to fire before I speak, and you will be…" 

" Hoover material?"

"Exactly"

" So, Wes, what have your researches dug up?" Angel asks.

Wes briefly goes over his findings with Angel. Angel nods. He doesn't like what he is hearing, but his gut is telling him something is really off here.

" If this is true, I really have to know what we're dealing with, Wes" Angel says.

"Well, actually…"

Angel raises his brow

" I took the liberty of contacting Fred. Keeping it hush-hush, of course. I told her what we were looking for, and Fred is working on a little 'side' project as we speak… a demon detector."

"In Wolfram and Hart? It'll be going off every other desk" Angel quips

"No… it'll be more like a scanner, with no alarm. More to find out what kind of Demon, than a warning"

"Wes, I'm not sure about involving Fred in this"

"Angel, I assure you, Fred is more than trustworthy…" Wesley begins to protest. His feelings about Fred are no secret, right?

" I have no doubts about her loyalty, Wes. More, her safety"

Another figure steps out of the shadows. " I'm perfectly capable of takin' care of myself, Angel" Fred says, hefting a crossbow.

"You brought her here?" Angel asks Wes, a bit annoyed.

"Well, after all, she is involved now, Angel" Wesley replies.

"Actually, Angel, I asked to come, cause I have some news for you too" Fred says, lowering the 'bow. "I've noted a marked increase in mystical energy being used at Wolfram and Hart. This is a lot, even for that place" 

" It's probably nothing, Fred. Some demon celebration, or some such" Angel replies

"I don't know. This has been going on for awhile, and has been increasing a lot lately. Thing is, Angel, from what I can determine, it's mostly directed at you"

" At me?" Angel muses. " That's odd. I mean, I'm pretty fair in my performance reviews. Ok, there is that zero-tolerance for killing policy, but I thought everybody was onboard for that…"

"Ah don't think it's that, Angel" Fred replies, a little amused. " From what I can tell, it's more subtle. More towards shifting how you think about things. Of course, as soon as I detected it, I started blocking it. Figured better be safe, ya know?"

Angel gives a rare smile. Fred certainly has blossomed since the days they rescued her from Pylea, Lorne's home dimension.

"Any idea as to where it originates?" 

"Well, it's actually seeming to come …" Fred hesitates " From The Project warehouse, Angel"

Angel is troubled(ok, no surprise there) more than usual. Cordelia has been in charge at The Project ever since…(sigh) he fired Faith. Things seem to be pointing in a direction telling him that Faith wasn't so paranoid, after all. He's thinking he should look for the 'kick me' sign someone has pasted on his back. He doesn't like being made a fool.

"Ok, here's the drill. Fred, I want you to concentrate on that little device you are making for Wes. Reassign people to cover you on other projects, if necessary. Wes? I think it's time you had a little 'consultation' with Rupert Giles. I have been talking with him, and I believe we are in the middle of something bigger… much bigger. I wish I could trust Gunn these days" Angel sighs. He misses his old street fighting partner. "But ever since that 'upgrade' they gave him, I'm a little leery of bringing him in on this. I guess I'm gonna have to go with Lorne. I need someone to try to find out how far and deep this is going in Wolfram and Hart. I don't think Cordelia could be doing this stuff on her own. It goes higher… I just want to find out how high."

" So, when will I be leaving for Britain, Angel?" Wesley asks. He is rather anxious to see London again. It's been awhile.

"Actually, Wes, you're not. Giles is flying into Boston. You will meet him there" Angel replies. "Well… in Salem, actually"

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Rupert Giles was feeling rather good this evening.

He was back amongst some of his favorite people, and he was finally free of the Council. Before he had left Britain, he had formally retired as Active Director of the council, keeping the title(and necessary power) of  Chair. He wanted to be sure that the council didn't revert back to the bad old days, but he was tired of the day to day grind of it.

Now, here he was, in Boston, with his favorite Americans. It had been a rather affectionate reunion, with hugs all around. Of course, Buffy, Willow and Faith had been rather surprised when they saw he had brought Dawn along. He made up an excuse about her knowing that  Buffy and Willow would be here, and insisting on coming along for a visit. True enough, as far as it went. Anyway, there were squeals, and hugs and kisses all around there. So typical. So adorable, actually.

Now they were sitting in this rather pleasant restaurant, enjoying( well, perhaps enjoying for him, was a bit strong. He never could get behind the concept of Nouvelle Cuisine) the meal, and each other's company. Actually, he was more watching the others catch up on old times.

For a moment, it was like old times for him. Of course, they were all older now, but they were still so young. He smiled at how 'mature' they acted, yet in the next instance reminded him so much of the teenagers they once were. It both amused him, and gave him a bit of nostalgia. Everything seems so… black and white then. Sigh.

He hated to spoil it. He knew sooner or later, he would have to get down to the business of why he was here. He wasn't looking forward to it. 

He looked at Buffy, and his heart ached a little. She, of course, was being her usual self. A mixture of  trying to be cosmopolitan along with an almost childish animation for life and being with her friends.  He wished, somehow, he could leave her out of this. But if his interpretations of the text were correct, she was one of the key elements to success. But he was keenly aware of the effect the last fight had on her, and he was feeling protective… somewhat like a father.

For now, however, Giles was just going to sit back and enjoy the moment. These kinds of moments are rare enough, these days, and he planned to relish it as long as he could.

Time enough later for the serious things.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"So, can you all believe it? Dawn, our little Dawnie, so smart and all? I mean, she is like acing Cambridge." Buffy crows, proud of Dawn as any mom would be " I don't know where she gets it. Certainly not from my side of the family" 

"No argument here, B." Faith smirks. Well, she DID leave herself wide open for that one.

Buffy glares at Faith, but then grins widely. She knows the truth when she is insulted by it.

" I swear, Will, Dawnie is almost as brilliant as you are" Buffy grins at the redhead.

"I dunno, Buffy. In some ways, Dawnie is more brilliant than I am ," Willow says, maybe with just a touch of flirt in it.

Dawn blushes, and says " No way, Willow"

Willow smiles and says " Way, Dawnie."

Faith sits back, amused. Is there maybe a little sparkage going on here? She remembers that at Logan, Dawn had seemed particularly glad to see Willow, even more so than her own sister. And they had been subtly flirting back and forth all night. Of course, B, as usual, is carrying her white cane and dark glasses. Not seeing a thing. I swear sometimes Blondie just doesn't see what she doesn't want to see. But Faith sees it, and is more than a little amused. I just hope Lil nut and Red know what they're doing. Too many broken hearts around here, lately. She sighs.

Faith looks over at the woman she loves, and she feels the squeeze that Buffy puts on her heart oh, every other beat or so. She smiles, because when it comes to B. she can't help herself. She is just crazy about the blonde. She has to laugh at herself a little bit when she thinks about how seriously in love with this woman she is. Never ever expected this, she thinks. Not me, not Party hardy  good time Faith. No sir. It's get in , get some , get out. Want, get, and have. That's Faith philosophy. So where did she slip up? She never counted on someone like B. Someone who sneaks up on you and steals your heart while your not looking. Someone who … for some reason, makes you want to be better than you are. Every time I look at her, I see something new…something that just makes me more in love with her. Sigh. I got in, I got some, but when I tried to get out, the glue was too strong. Funny thing is, I didn't really want to get out, anyway.

Buffy is watching Faith, as she chats merrily away. She almost has to laugh. Faith thinks I don't see what is going on, but I do. If there were any more sparkage going on between Dawn and Willow, you could light up the restaurant with it. Buffy might be blonde, but that doesn't make her stupid… no matter what Faith says.(hee, hee). The overly long hug at Logan, the little touches when they are giving each other. The way they are looking at each other. The way Dawn is deferring to Willow…yeah, Dawn, Ms. I got my own opinions, and you better listen to 'em Dawn. It's almost laughable the way they think no one sees what's going on. Ok, ok, I should get weirded out right now? I mean, Willow and my sister? Ewwww, right? But somehow, I'm not. I mean, I couldn't think anyone who would be more affectionate and loving to Dawn if something were to happen between them. And… if Dawn's temper gets too out of line, Willow can always change her into a rat… for awhile, anyway(hee, hee). And anyway, Dawnie is a big girl now( I keep telling myself). She can make her own choices. I guess there might be a tiny wee spark of jealousy on my part. I mean, I won't deny there are some…feelings I have for Will. But that ship is never going to happen, so why wouldn't I want to see them both happy, anyway? As happy as I am?

Buffy looks at Faith, and her face gets this soft look on it. I don't know how I got so lucky to find such a sweet, loving woman. But damn, I'm so glad I did. Of course she wouldn't admit it. Soft feelings? Her? Hah!  But anyone that gets past that exterior knows how incredibly sweet she is. She acts like she doesn't care, she makes with the blonde jokes and the insults, but to her, at least way I see it, it's love talk. Just gotta read her right. And those eyes, those incredibly dark, beautiful eyes of hers. I love to sometimes just get lost in them. Because in there, deep down, behind the tough and cool layers, there is this lost little girl who craves love so badly, it makes my heart ache. You want to feed her every little bit of love you can give her. And the more you give, the more you get. And she makes me feel so special… like I'm the best thing that ever walked the earth. God, if it wouldn't embarrass everyone to death, I could jump this table right now and smooch her silly. She does that to me. She makes me feel so free sometimes. I know she doesn't believe me sometimes when I say " I love you, Faith", but I do. I love you to itty bitty pieces Faith… all the time. 

Buffy looks around, and sees Giles. He is looking all happy and sad at the same time. She scoots over to him.

"Hey, Giles" She smiles at him

"Hello, Buffy." He returns her smile. He would be quite willing to give up anything to see her smile more often.

" So, I see you still have the same fashion sense" She teases. "  You do know the make suits out of material besides tweed, right?" She always teases him mercilessly for his lack of…variety in clothing. But she also secretly gets a warm fuzzy safe feeling seeing him dressed so.

" So, how have you been Giles?" Buffy asks. She has noted the gray in his always darkish hair, and the deepness of the wrinkles around his eyes and forehead. She sighs a little. She knows she is partly  the cause of that.

" Well, good" He replies, in his usual British reserve. Then he added. " Though, of course, I missed my favorite slayer being about. Also, I resigned as Active Director of the Watcher's Council."

"You did?" She asks, a little worried. Without him on the council, who would make sure it didn't revert to the bad old days of the Quentin Travers clones?

" Don't worry, Buffy" He says, almost reading her mind. " I retained the Chair, with full powers. I don't want to happen what happened before. But the day to day was just … unnerving me."

" I know that one, too well" She smiles. " So, what is in the future for our Giles, then? If not on the council?"

"Well, I'm actually hoping to go back to field work" Giles replied. " Oddly, I miss it"

" Really? Back as an active Watcher then? Well, whoever gets you is lucky" She says. She knows despite all the disagreements they have had, the … break ups, if you will, she wouldn't trade having Giles as her watcher for anything.

" Thank you, Buffy. It means a lot to me that you think so" Is that a small tear we see in Giles' eye? Well, no one can accuse him of not loving his former charge. 

"Well, if they give you any trouble, you just let me know. I'll come straighten them out " Buffy smiles. They share a small laugh over that.

The party starts to break up. It's getting late, and Giles and Dawn need to get to their hotel rooms. They booked a place in Boston for the night, as they couldn't get reservations in Salem until the next day. Rather than drive back to Salem tonight, then turn around and come back in the morning, the other three women decide to bunk in with Dawn and have an all-nighter…ok, slumber party. Buffy figures it was time Faith was initiated to the intricacies of it. Of course, Faith rolled her eyes and made a few rude comments about doing some teenage ritual when they were all past those years. But of course, she was secretly happy to be included… poor Faith, she never will get the idea that others really LIKE having her around. So they all retire back to the Hotel, expecting to have a good time .

For once, they weren't disappointed.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Ok, ok. Before I get those hockey pucks thrown at me. Any of you going "Ewwww" over a Dawn / Willow liaison, get over it. I know I heard from at least one " bring back Kennedy"…umm…no way. One mentioned Fred….no. I know, this is weird. But so am I, and I can see it. Ok, I got my goalie gear on…toss away.  =)


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Well, if I need to say it every blasted chapter, here it's again. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. own these characters. Own the Buffyverse, actually. I'm just travelin' through.

Author's Note: This is the revision to chapter 18. Yeah, I know. There are those of you who are going to throw rocks at me, and deservedly so. I should never have posted that other version. I really liked the idea of all three together, at least on an emotional/spiritual level. But there is no way to write it without descending into bad porn. At least, not for me. My failings as a writer, I suppose. So, this is the revision. If you have already read the chapter, you can skip down below the "truth and dare" game… that remained the same. The new part picks up below that.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now? 

Chapter 18

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy shifted around in the chair again. Damn, this thing is uncomfy. Especially for sleeping. I guess lobby furniture is not made for sleeping. Duh. 

She shifts again, trying to find some way to be a little more comfortable. But it's really not working to well.

Never mind the Desk clerk and doorman are giving her funny looks. Like she is some homeless person.

Hey, I had them call the room and confirm I'm a guest here. We … just had a little disagreement, and I… had to leave the room. Quickly. Without my purse. Or credit card. Or I.D. 

Oh, man, I'm gonna have such a headache in the morning. Why did I ever drink so much, anyway?

Dunno, maybe cause we been on eggshells around each other the last few days? And needed to blow off steam?

Maybe that is why I agreed to play "Truth or Dare?" 

Buffy groans, and tries another position in the chair. Grrr.

"Truth or Dare !!! YAAAAY" Dawn squeals out

" I don't know…" Buffy begins. With all the weirdness lately, maybe not such a good idea?

" C'mon Buffy. It'll be fun. Find out everybody's deep dark secrets" Dawn giggles.

 Oh yeah, that'll be good, Buffy thinks.

"Yah, B. what cha got to hide, anyway? I already know about that mole by your…" Faith starts, but Buffy glares her down.

"Mole? What mole? I've never seen a mole on Buff…. Oh.." Willow starts...and stops. She blushes.

"Are you…chicken…Buffy?" Dawn gives her sister a look . She knows how Buffy'll  react to that.

And right on cue, Buffy reacts as expected. NO one, especially her sister, calls her chicken.

"Bring it on, Dawnie" Buffy says, feeling the confidence of one who's had one too many to drink.

"So who goes first?"

" RED!!! Truth or Dare?"

" Truth" Willow replies, screwing up all the dignity she could, being halfway to blottoland.

"Ok, Red" Faith says. She has a wicked one for the shy witch. "Where was the most public place you ever did it?"

"Well…" Willow begins, blushing a little. " There was that time on UC Sunnydale with Oz. He got a little amorous between classes…and got me a bit…heated… and there was no real place to go, as my dorm was occupado at the time by Buffy… so… we found some bushes…"

"WILL!!!! You wild woman you" Buffy giggles. She never figured will for the do it in the woods type. Nor the spontaneous sex type. Maybe she didn't know Will as well as she thought?

Willow then gets to ask. " Ok, Faith. Truth or Dare?"

Faith had a feeling Red might direct it to her . " Truth, Red" She replied.

"'K. What was the kinkiest sex you've ever had?" Willow asks, with an evil grin on her face.

Buffy is not sure she wants to hear this

"With one person, Red?" Faith asks, innocently. Yeah, right.

" Oh… no need to limit yourself, Faith" Red replies

So don't want to hear this. LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA , goes Buffy to herself, while trying to block out the sound in her ears. Nonetheless, she heard something about a guy and a girl and a shower, and handcuffs and …toys? Oh…

Faith directs the next question to Dawn. "'K, Lil Nut, Truth or Dare?" Faith asks, innocently. Again, yeah, right.

Being on the hot seat all of a sudden, Dawn is beginning to question the wisdom of this game. But, she plays along. But no secrets  are comin' outta here, you betcha. Not with Big sis sittin' right there.

"Dare" She grins

" Ok" Faith grins. She was hoping' for this.

"Someone, call down and order another round of drinks" Faith starts. "I think we're getting a lil dry up here. Now, when the room service guy comes up, Lil Nut, you gotta go over, and flash him." Faith smirks at Dawn

Dawn goes a bit pale. " Ummm….." Dawn stalls

"What wrong, Dawnie?" Buffy pipes up, " Feelin' a bit …chicken?" She giggles.

Dawn looks at Buffy, and gives her I'm gonna so get you for this look. But she gets a half grin, and agrees.

Everybody is giggling now, feeling the effects of the alcohol, and maybe a little nervous. Anyway, Willow calls down for some more drinks, and Dawn gets up, and waits by the door. She loosens the belt on her robe.

10 minutes later, there is a knock on the door. Dawn opens the door, and the room service guy has the drinks on a tray. She smiles at him, opens her robe, and then lets it drop…revealing she has the same suit on she had when she was born. The room service guy just drops his jaw, and stares. She politely says " Those are ours, I think" And takes, the tray, slamming the door in the poor guys face. Grinning, she turns around, and bows. To various expressions like " Yo, Dawnie, nice one " and " You Go, Girl" she picks up her robe, and walks over to the table, setting down the tray. She then puts back on her robe. Everyone is hooting and cheering her now.

" Ok, my turn to ask now" Dawn says. She turns to Buffy. " So, Buffy…Truth, or Dare?"

No telling what my dear delightful(evil)sister will choose as a dare, so " Truth" Buffy replies.

Dawn smiles. She has her now. " Ok, Buffy. Faith and Willow are both drowning. You can only save one. Who do you choose?"

Three pairs of eyes, one very dark brown, one deep green, and one very blue, look at her for her answer.

Buffy looks like the deer caught in the headlights. She looks at Will, then at Faith…then at Willow… back to Faith. She suddenly realizes how Xander would feel when she and Will put him on the spot. Oh, God, Xander…I get it , I so get it now.

Her breaths get short and shallow. Her nerves start to crack. She stands up, and … runs into the drink table, knocking the over and onto the carpet. She…stutters out " N…Not feeling so good, gotta go" and before anyone can stop her, she is out the door, running down the hall to the elevator.

Dawn is on the bed, looking very smug. Faith and Willow turn to her, both of them red faced, and looking very angry.

"What… Wha-aa-at?" Dawn looks at them. 

Buffy tries again to find a comfortable spot in the chair, and gives up. No sleep tonight, I guess. She sighs. How am I to choose in that situation? God, I  really would like to take Dawn and beat her bottom a couple hundred times right now. Damn.

Buffy hears a noise behind her, and turns around. There is Willow, standing behind her. She is wringing her hands, and looking a little sad.

"Hey, Buffy" Willow says.

"Hey, Will" 

"Look, Buffy. Faith wanted to come down here, but I asked her…no, pleaded with her, to let me talk to you… alone. Buffy, I know that … you wouldn't… couldn't make that choice. You would sacrifice yourself, rather than think that either of us would die. Faith knows that too. You love us both, but in different ways. And" Here she stops for a bit, catching a breath… it's going to hurt to say this, " I know that , much as you love me, you don't love me the same way you love Faith. I'm not gonna lie to you and say it doesn't hurt. It does. A lot. But, I have to accept that… if we ever had a chance, you and me, that ship has long sailed. Believe me, I wish it hadn't."

"I guess what I'm doing is making the choice for you, Buffy" Willow continues, with probably the hardest speech in her life. "We can't go on, you , me and Faith, this way. So, I'm… letting you go Buffy. I mean…in any romantic way. I still want to be your friend. Your best friend. But…" At this point, Willow is done. She can't help it. The tears start to fall. She turns away, trying to hide it, but Buffy is on her feet, hugging her. She puts her face on Buffy's shoulder, and lets the sobs go on.

Buffy holds her 'til she calms down. Her heart is breaking for her friend… she never in her life ever wanted to hurt her this way. " Will? I'm…so sorry. I wish, with all my heart, it could've been different, too. But, I love her Will. And I can't change that. I hope we can still be special to each other. But whatever you decide, I…I'll accept it." Buffy feels tears of her own falling. Why does it always have to be so damned hard?

Willow gently disengages herself from Buffy's arms, and wipes away her tears, best she can. She puts on a smile, and says "I'm kinda tired, Buffy. I'm going up to bed. Also, I have to rescue Dawn… when I left, Faith was threatening to hold her out the window by one leg. Are you coming up?" Willow asks. Buffy shakes her head. She thinks it best right now she not be around Dawn, or Willow. Willow nods, understanding." I'll send Faith down, then."

Willow goes to the elevator. She takes one last look over her shoulder at Buffy. She sighs, slumps a little, and enters the elevator, which closes behind her.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy is sitting , looking out the front doors of the Hotel. Her mind is still on what just happened with Willow, and she is lost in her thoughts. She almost jumps out of her chair when a hand settles lightly on her shoulder

"Whoa, B . Settle. It's just me" Faith says, coming around in front of her. She sees Buffy's face, and kneels down before her. "What happened, B?"

Buffy smiles a little sadly at Faith. " Willow just 'broke up' with me"

Faith touches Buffy's cheek, and feels the tears. "Ah, B. I'm sorry"

"No, it really is for the best" Buffy sighs. " I wish I'd had the courage to do it myself. Instead, I have put her and you through hell because I … couldn't make a decision. She was pretty upset when she left. I hope my oh so bright but sometimes incredibly stupid sister can see that. Because right now she can use a lot of comforting… something neither you or I can do."

" I could see she was upset when she came up, B. She wouldn't look at me, and barely spoke to me… just saying you needed me downstairs" Faith replies.

" Did you bring my purse down? I think we better see if we can arrange another room…otherwise, we're gonna be sleeping in the lobby" 

Faith smiles, and holds up a key card. "Already done, B."

Buffy smiles at Faith, but it soon fades. Her heart is heavy, and she is grieving a loss. The loss of what she had with Willow. The special closeness they had shared, was gone. Nothing could bring that back. She knows she made the right decision… or Willow did. She doesn't even have to be with Faith to know that. But, being human, she can't help but regret what might have been.

Feeling old, very old, Buffy stands up. Faith joins her, and linking arms, they make their way to the elevator.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Dawn's Room:

Willow is sitting in a chair, staring out into space. She is not reacting, not crying. She just is still.  Her face hardly betrays what she is feeling; the biggest clue being her down turned mouth, and the remnants of tears. Her hands grip the arms of the chair. She so doesn't want to let go, let it out. It hurts too, too much.

Dawn stands a little distance away from her. She is aching to comfort her, but is finding it hard to decide how. She is caught in a whirl of guilt and desire, need and compassion. She is still young, and not confident in her gift to comfort someone. Finally, she allows instinct to take over, and she goes over to Willow, and wraps her in her arms. Willow turns to her, and clings to her tightly. The tears begin again, and flood out, her body wracked in sobs.

Dawn just holds her, and soothes her, caressing her hair.

Faith/Buffy's room:

The two slayers stand looking at each other. Both feel the need for each other. Faith particularly senses that Buffy is in great pain, but is trying to hide it away. Buffy on the other hand, has felt a great longing to just hold Faith. The need to be held, and loved, without the pain and tears. And she realizes how hard this has been on Faith. How Faith still has trust and abandonment issues. Along with the love she feels, the need to be with Faith, there is a strong sense of guilt. Even for one second, she never wants Faith to feel she might abandon her.

They come together, embracing in a combination of want and need. Both feel the tears, long held in, come out. Both cling to each other, realizing the other is their rock, their touchstone. Slowly a passion envelops the women. Not a passion born of lust, but one of need. The need for closeness. The need to reconnect. They kiss, their bodies in the kiss. Their lips meet, and they comfort each other, connecting on an intimate level.

Dawn's room:

Dawn touches Willow's cheek, gently brushing away the tears. On an impulse, born of compassion, she gently begins to kiss Willow's face. Their lips meet, and they capture each other. Their need, their desire, flares, and the kiss becomes more passionate, fierier. Their hands find each other's bodies, and they begin to explore.

They stand, and soon they are undressing each other. It's a race to see who can get naked first, which Dawn easily wins by virtue of only wearing a robe and panties. But Willow's clothes are soon pooled on the floor, and they cling to each other, each needing the soft contact of skin to skin. They fall on the bed, and continue kissing.

In the back of her mind, Dawn realizes she might only be Rebound girl. But at the moment she doesn't care. Willow's needs, and her own desires, are more important. She is aware her heart is at risk, but she thinks that will be sorted later.

Faith/Buffy's room:

The two women are on the bed, naked. They are holding each other, caressing each other gently. They are constantly seeking kisses from each other. Small warm kisses, full of love and a passion built upon that love. Their kisses become more fervent, hungrier, as the desire in them builds. They pull closer, needing the contact of their skin. Their caresses, their touches become more intimate, and more demanding. Each slips a thigh between the other's legs. They don't want to break the contact. They want to see each other as they  climb the heights. They stare into each other's eyes, and slowly they move against each other, the warm feelings stoking to fire. They kiss, the kiss is deep, needy, and demanding . They move together, silently. The only sounds made are the moans and groans each excite in the other.

They strengthen the bond that first pulled them together, as their bodies react to the building flames of their wants.

Dawn's room:

Dawn is in sensual heaven. Willows lips, fingers and body are doing things to her she had only imagined before. Willow herself feels a strong need to give this young woman pleasure, the desire to make her happy paramount in her thoughts. She kisses Dawn in places she has never been kissed before. Her tongue , touching her breasts, her nipples,  her tummy, and other sweet intimate places triggers a hot desire in Dawn. Willow's lips, her fingers, and how she touches Dawn, makes Dawn realize she has had sex, but never ever been made love to before. Sooo different, sooo special. Slowly, gently Willow nudges Dawn over the edge, tasting Dawns sweet honey as it flows over her lips and tongue. She catches Dawn in an embrace, and holds her as she falls.

Faith/Buffy's room:

The lovemaking has taken on a new edge. It has become fiercer, more demanding. The slayer in each woman has come out, and with it the strong passions and ferocious competition natural to them. Their bodies are covered in a sheen of sweat, their hair wild, tangled. Their kisses are savage, their touches almost violent, and their nails leave tracks down each other's back. Their moans have become almost growls, as they push each other to the edge. Their looks are obsessive, their needs burning them into bright dark fires. They fight to push each other over the edge, and almost in sync they both leap, holding each other , struggling as they fall.

Dawn's room:

Dawn makes love to Willow. She is neither as gentle, nor as skilled a lover as Willow. But her desire to please, her eagerness to learn, awakens a slow passion in Willow. Slowly, a little clumsily, she finds areas that Willow enjoys. Willow gently instructs her on some things to do, and Dawn picks it up quickly. Willow feels, for the first time in a long time, the fire in her tummy. Dawns obvious need to please awakens in Willow a gentle protectiveness, and a soft love in Willow's heart. Slowly, but faster than Willow had expected, Dawn takes her over the edge, her touches, her kisses, her little giggles making Willow crazy happy. With Willow's essence on her lips, Dawn holds Willow and kisses her deeply as Willow falls gently to earth.

Faith/ Buffy's room:

The slayers lay side by side, sated. They hold each other, cling still to each other, not wanting, no…needing to hold onto each other. Their fires cooled, their kisses become softer, and sweeter. They giggle, and engage in some sexual play. They both feel a deep contentment they haven't had for awhile. They pull together once again, and share a long , abiding kiss. They pull apart, and stare into each other's eyes. They gently drift off to sleep, their lips mere inches apart, their bodies enwrapped in each other.

Dawn's room:

Dawn and Willow lay in the sweet embrace of afterglow, each looking deeply into the other's eyes. Dawn is already in love. She has had a crush on Willow for years, and tonight was a fulfillment of a fantasy she has had for years. Willow looks into the younger woman's eyes, and feels there is a good chance she could fall in love with her. It's too soon now, her heart is still raw and wounded. But Dawn has given her something very special, and it touches Willow to her heart's core. Slowly, she pulls Dawn close for a gentle kiss. They fall asleep in each other's arms, serenaded by each other's soft breathing.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The moonlight gently kisses the city of Boston. Under the dark night sky, the city sleeps peacefully. 

Our four heroes have found some small measure of happiness tonight. They will need it. Dark, troubling times are coming for them. Each little bit of happiness they can snatch here and there will sustain them in the upcoming times.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Again, I think this worked out better. I know there are some of you who don't agree… maybe a lot of you. But I feel this is best for all four. Thanks again, and read and review, if you will.


	19. Chapter 19

 Disclaimer: Help! I have been taken prisoner by Buffy and the Scooby Gang. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc., who own them, refuse to release me until I promise not to write about them anymore.

Author's Note: The author of this piece wishes to apologize for his recent (and hopefully temporary) bout with insanity. I'm making a full recovery. I have an excuse. I was possessed by a demon. It wouldn't have been so bad, but it was Clem for Christ's sake. My skin is clearing up nicely, thanks for asking.

Hey…hey… somebody call off the Hellhounds, Ok? I mean, I admitted I was out of my mind … Please … ahhh … thanks …. OUCH…that one TOO, please!

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 19

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Strange things have been happening in California, particularly in the Los Angeles area.

Ok, strange things always happen in California… but these we stranger than usual. Is that possible?

San Francisco declared itself a 'conservative capitol' of the nation. The population immediately dropped by two thirds. City council is declaring a " God Bless Rush Limbaugh" Day, and plans are in the works to straighten out Lombard Street.

A former star of Hollywood action pictures was elected Governor of California on the platform of cleaning up California's deficit problems by curtailing spending. Oh… wait, that really happened.

Los Angeles, Ca.: A series of brutal dog murders were reported in the West Hollywood area.

Demonic activity was on the rise. Along with the murder and suicide rate.

Los Angeles city hall was taken over by a swarm of rats from the sewer system. Nobody noticed any changes.

The homeless population in the mission district of downtown L.A. is on the decline. When interviewed, one former street person declared that " It's getting too weird for me down there."

The grocery worker strike continues. They have added " Singing show tunes while on duty" to their list of demands.

L.A. Police department, The county sheriff's department, and various municipal police departments have en masse stopped patronizing local area doughnut shops. Six chains went out of business in a week.

There have been reports of weird noises and strange lights coming out of various downtown business complexes. When interviewed, a representative for Wolfram and Hart, one of the largest law firms in Los Angeles said " What weird noises?"

A series of strange arson fires broke out in the West San Fernando Valley. Reports indicate they are targeting various porn "studios" in the valley.

A series of small earthquakes hit the Los Angeles Basin. No one noticed.

Welcome to L.A.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Angel was sleeping even less than usual.

When he would sleep, he was having a recurring nightmare.

In it , he was with Cordelia in a very dark place. The only light was a dull red glow from a globe seeming to float in mid air. Cordelia placed an amulet around his neck, which on contact fastened itself to his chest. He saw the stone of the amulet glow  orange, and felt a strange power flow thru him.

Suddenly it was lighter around him, and he was a mystic plane. Behind him stood an army, dressed in black and red. He was leading that army.  They were comprised of a combination of demons and humans. Some of the army was composed of the formers students in the secret slayer program.

 In his hand he carried a sword, the sword glowing with energy. Cordelia, dressed in black and red, carried a small orb with her. Together the faced the opposition army.

It was composed of slayers… thousands of them. They were armed with swords, axes, crossbows, and strangely, modern equipment including rocket launchers and flamethrowers. All in all, both Armies would have a tough fight ahead.

The opposition army was led by four women. At first, he couldn't see who they were, but as they got closer, it came clear to him. In the lead were Faith, Buffy, Willow and Dawn. All four looked grim, determined to win the fight at all costs.

Next to him, Cordelia starts to chant. An incredible pain rips through him, and the amulet on his chest glows bright orange. A beam of energy shoots from it. It's joined by a beam from the sword he is holding, and a greenish beam of energy that Cordelia is holding. All three beams seem to meet in the sky, where they are tearing the fabric of the sky apart. Revealed is a dimensional portal. Slowly, the energy seems to be destroying the gate between the dimensions.

At this point, he usually awakens from the dream.

He is getting more and more worried about what is happening around him. Fred has told him that mystical energy has spiked through the roof. She is still working on the little project he assigned her, but hopes to have it completed soon.

Wesley is away. In Massachusetts, consulting with Rupert Giles. He still hasn't had a report back.

He is feeling more and more isolated. The flow of information on the doings in Wolfram and Hart has slowed to a trickle. Even Harmony, usually a fountain of gossip, has gone quiet.

Something bad is coming down the pike. Something involving the Senior Partners, he suspects.

The question is… what is he going to do about it?

He still has no answer to that question.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Rupert Giles is waiting for the four women to begin the meeting. 

He is a bit on edge, as what he has to say isn't going to be pleasant for them. He has had Havers in the L.A. center and Jamieson in the Cleveland center doing research for him, along with the usual researchers in London. The reports he has been getting have been… disturbing.

Then there is the fact he has not been able to reach Angel. Every time he calls, he is told Angel is in a meeting, or out of the office , or with a client… or some such nonsense. This is worrisome, because his assistance will most likely be required in this matter. He only hopes that when Wesley arrives he can find out what is going on at Wolfram and Hart.

The women file in, a bit subdued. Giles is … concerned. Usually when you get these four together, they are laughing and joking, but today they are on the quiet side. They sit at the table, Willow and Dawn on one side, Buffy and Faith on the other. Giles begins the meeting.

" It seems, as usual, I'm the bearer of bad news" He begins. No one says anything. Strange. " We had hoped after the first, that we were going to be apocalypse free for awhile. Seems there is another prophecy, however"

"Yup. Any time without a prophecy is like a day without sunshine" Buffy quips. The others shush her. She falls silent.

" The reason we overlooked this particular prophecy is because the author was considered…particularly insane. The Katsui chronology has been ignored for centuries. My own research into the document, however, has found it to be particularly accurate on certain events. And with the rise in strange occurrences worldwide, particularly in California, it seems to spell some mystical phenomenon.  

Briefly, this is how the prophecy reads:

_After the end of days shall come a time of  quiet. There has been the defeat of a great evil. However, do not be blind. Be wary, for in the darkness there builds a great force, one to destroy the light._

_It is an old force, one as old as time itself. It be as old as time, and light, and darkness. It comes out of the Chaos to rule this reality, to make the light dark._

_It shall come from sources not known, or knowable. It will take the form of pleasing things, until that time that it will reveal itself._

_There shall arise out of the light a force, a force of champions. They will be led by one of the light, one of the dark, and one of the earth. In the center shall be the one who was not, but is now, who was born of the light, but not born by the light._

_A great battle shall be enjoined. Many will be lost, and many will be found . All is not clear how it will end. I cannot see what the outcome will be, it's obscured in the fog of time_

_Beware, for those you trust may betray you. They who seek power over the darkness may find themselves enwrapped within it._

" Gee, Giles, can't you vague it up a little for us?" Buffy asks, a bit sarcastically.

" Buffy, please?" Willow responds from across the table. "We're trying to get the facts here" 

Buffy goes quiet. Her face is grim.

" Thank you, Willow" Giles says. The tension in here is getting thick, he notes to himself. But he attempts to plow right through it. " I have been doing some research, and cross referencing other documents and prophecies, this is the time of The Reckoning. The Reckoning is an ancient war between the forces of order( Light) and Chaos(Darkness). It seems the Gods of Chaos are planning to invade this dimension, to take it over and use it in their struggle against the light. Certain mystical and physical alignments point in that direction. It's time… this alignment only happens once in a millennium, and certain factors seem to indicate that the Chaos Gods are preparing to strike soon."

" Any idea when?" Faith asks, a bit impatiently. She is not research and meeting girl.

" Soon is all I have right now" Giles replies.

" Always to the specifics, huh Giles? What happened? No one sent us the memo?" Buffy asks. Her voice contains a little acid.

" Buffy, it isn't helping being sarcastic" Willow says, quietly. " Maybe if we listen, we can find out what is going on, and how to deal."

" Yeah, Buffy. How about being quiet, if you can do that?" Dawn chimes in.

" Might've helped if you thought of that last night, Dawn" Faith mutters, just loud enough for Dawn to hear. Dawn  blushes, and looks at her hands.

Giles sighs. He doesn't like one bit what is going on around this table. But his reserve and upbringing prevent him from delving too deeply into it…at the moment, anyway.

" As to when it happens, that is not the real issue. You will know when it happens, because you will be called to a mystical plane. These gods cannot exist on the Mortal plane. Not without having "hosts" to occupy.  The mystical plane will be the staging area of the war. The Gods must break through to that plane, and then take the 'vessels' offered them so they can descend into our level of existence. According to the prophecy, we must stop them there."

" How are we to do that, Giles? I mean, the four of us?" Buffy asks.

"If you'd been listening, Buffy" Dawn replies, " You would have heard the mention of an Army… of champions"

" Yes" Giles interjects, trying to head off another little exchange of pleasantries. " That  would be the slayers. The ones you and Willow raised during the fight with the First" Giles goes on." However, you all have a role in this fight, too."

Giles goes around the table. He touches Buffy's shoulder first " One of the light". He moves to Faith, and touches her shoulder." One of the dark" Faith grins. Giles moves to Willow " One of the Earth" and finally, he moves to Dawn "One at the center, born of the light, but not born by the light." Dawn smiles big time. She gets to be in the fight… and nothing Buffy can do to say no.

" How do you figure, Giles? I mean, it really is kinda vague" Buffy says. " It could be four other people".

" I believe Dawn is the center here… if you'll pardon the expression, the key. She seems to fit exactly the prophecies requirement, and that means it's you four in the forefront".

  
 " Still, it doesn't exactly tell us how we're gonna defeat the Big Bad" Buffy says.

"Yeah, G.  B and I are kinda not the Who and Why girls, more the How we gonna stop 'em girls" Faith chimes in.

" I was getting to that. Evidently, for the Chaos Gods to be able to enter the mystical plane, they need someone on this side to open it. They require the assemblage of three items. The Cursed orb of Charnok, the sword of Danacles, and  the amulet of Ankarath.  From my contacts, it would seem the already have the first two items. The last, the Amulet of Ankarath, seems to be at the moment eluding them. But it's only a matter of time before they find it, as they are spending considerable resources to find it."

"That is another problem. It would seem the resources of Wolfram and Hart are in the mix. And they are being used by the other side. I have been trying to contact Angel for a week, without success. I'm only hoping the worst hasn't happened. That he has been…taken out of the picture, or, there is the remote chance he has gone over to the other side."

" I don't believe that, Giles" Buffy stands up, defending Angel " He has his soul. I know there have been problems with me , Faith and Angel, but I think that was because Cordelia was duping him."

" It's not like he hasn't gone bad before" Willow speaks up.

"He has his soul, Willow. You and I saw to that, remember?" Faith interjects.

"What would you know about it, Faith?" Dawn interrupts. " He might have lost it again".

" I know I nearly died getting his soul back into him, Dawn. I have been inside his mind. It's not like a book. You don't just ...ooops... lose it. It takes powerful mojo to make him lose his soul" Faith replies, glaring at Dawn.

"QUIET" Giles has finally lost his temper. All four of the women look at him, surprised.

" I don't know what is going on between you four" He says, quietly, but with an edge "And I don't really care. But I do know that this is serious. We're facing a serious battle, probably tougher than the First. You four bickering like children is not going to help. You need to be united, or we might as well quit now!"

"Fine by me" Buffy says.

"Buffy, you don't mean that!" Willow says, shocked.

" I do mean it , Will. Giles, exactly how many times do me and mine have to risk it all to save the world? There are thousands of slayers out there. How about someone else take up the burden for once?" 

Giles looks at Buffy. The last thing he wants is to put more on her shoulders. But what choice does he have?

"Buffy, it isn't like there is a choice here. The prophecy almost is written for …." But Buffy interrupts him.

"Giles, those prophecies are so vague, they could be written for anyone. What if I had never been born, Giles? Would the world be over now? I don't think so. I think it's just easier to get us, because we are close and convenient. Well, I'm tired of being close and convenient. When do we get to have a life, Giles? EVER? Or do we have to die? Is that it? No life, just keep going 'til you're dust? I could see that when I… and Faith, were the only ones. But now? I can't buy that anymore!" Buffy is fuming

" B…I don't think this is the time…" Faith starts, but Buffy cuts her off, too.

"When is the time Faith? When were in the heat of battle? Do you want to die, Faith? I certainly don't want to die! Does everyone at this table have a death wish but me?" Buffy is nearly screaming it out now.

"Buffy…" Dawn starts

" Buffy, it's ok…" Willow starts

"B…Calm down…" Faith starts. 

Buffy cuts them all off " No, I won't calm down. And NO, it's not OK. How can I think it's ok, when I might lose one of you ? Two of you? All of you? Do you think I can really go on with life, if one of you dies? You Willow? My best friend forever? If you die? I can accept that? I don't think so. Dawn? My sister? I can stand by and watch you die? No way. Faith? My god, I can't even think of life without you. Giles? The man who has been like my father?….God. I can't take this. I can't see any of you die, or hurt. I … I… I don't want to die, either, but I would rather die than watch one of you die. And the slayers? Those girls? Who barely have had a chance at life yet. How many of them will die? How is this fair? How?  No. I won't do it. I won't be party to it. I'm so gone." Buffy turns, grabs her coat, and storms out of the house. 

Everyone at the table is stunned. They all knew, in their way, that Buffy had problems with this. But they never expected her to just blow up like that. They had gotten used to the persona of Buffy, and had forgotten the person, somewhere. They had forgotten how hard she had taken it when the potentials died, fighting the first. How she took blame for every mistake, every misstep. She was big on sharing credit, but not on sharing responsibility.

Faith stands up, and says " I better go after her". She grabs her coat, and leaves.

 ~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Faith doesn't have far to go.

She finds Buffy standing by the car, the key in her hand. She is looking at the key as if she doesn't understand what it's for.

"So, is that it, B? Are you leaving, then?" Faith asks, quietly.

Buffy looks at her, and answers " I don't know Faith. I… just don't know"

" Where you going , B? Do you know?" Faith asks, gently

Buffy shakes her head.

"Well, when you know, B. let me know, 'k? So I can come too?" Faith says.

Buffy looks at Faith. Her expression is unreadable.

"B, look. For me it's simple. All I want is 5 more minutes of your time. Then, I want the 5 minutes after that, and then the 5 minutes after that. Where we are, what we're doing together, doesn't make a difference to me. If it's waiting tables at some greasy spoon, or fighting some Big Bad. All I care is that I'm with you. I don't care if the universe ends in a million years, or tomorrow. As long as my last few minutes are with you. So, if you want to skip this one, that's ok by me. As long as we're together, ok?"

" I know you would rather die, than see one of us dead. But, B. do you think any of us want to see you dead? You've died, twice. I didn't know you for the first time, but I knew you for the second time. And despite being in prison, despite all the crap we had between us, I nearly died when I heard. I know my heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest. Because I knew that I would never get to make it up to you. With you. I knew I would never get to love you, like I wanted to. So please, don't die baby. Don't do foolish stuff that'll get you killed. I promise I will do my best to live, if you do your best to live. Ok?"

Buffy's face is anguished, but slowly she's accepting the inevitable " We have to do this, don't we?" She says. Her eyes are pleading with Faith to tell her no. 

Faith sighs. She knows they do, whether they want to, or not.

"I'm afraid we do, B. I don't like it either, but I don't see any choice" Faith says, with more than a little regret.

Buffy's shoulders slump. She feels all the weight of the world crashing down on her again.

" Promise me Faith" Buffy says. " Promise me you'll never leave me. I don't think I can live without you anymore."

Faith doesn't like lying to Buffy. But she knows Buffy is asking her something no one can promise.

" I promise, baby. I won't ever leave you. I can't live without you either"

The Chosen Two, arms around each other's shoulders, walk back into the house.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy walks back into the room with Faith. 

Everyone is still at the table, but turn to look at her when she enters. She looks at them all, still trying to save the world, and feels ashamed of herself. 

"Hey, Guys" She says, quietly. She is staring at the floor. " I'm sorry I went nuclear…" But she doesn't get to finish.

They are all up, surrounding her, hugging her tightly. They continue to hug her until, because she can't breathe, she says " Ummm…guys…oxygen is getting to be an issue here" . The break the hug, and all laugh a little. She goes around, giving each a hug, reserving the biggest for Dawn. She smiles, putting on a brave face for her.

"Well, Dawnie, looks like you're gonna be in the middle of all this" She says. " I guess we're gonna have to work you're ass off getting you trained."

Dawn just holds her tight, and says " I'm so sorry, Buffy. For everything."

Buffy replies, " I know, Dawnie. Me too."

They break the embrace, and everyone sits back down at the table. They start to plot how they're going to defeat the newest Big Bad on the block.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

  
  



	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Render unto Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. what is theirs, the characters, and render unto me what is mine…utter insanity.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now? 

Chapter 20

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

" Do it again, Dawn" Buffy barks at her sister.

Dawn throws another roundhouse kick at Buffy, which she blocked.

" That was better, but remember to keep your weight balanced on your grounded foot. Don't throw it forward, or you'll lose your balance. Try it again"

Dawn does it again, the other leg this time. Buffy blocks it, but smiles.

"Nice switch over Dawn"

Dawn dances a little on her toes. Praise from Buffy is always a good thing. She smiles big time.

Buffy comes at Dawn with a combo kick punch… Dawn blocks the kick, but the punch gets through. Even though Buffy held back, Dawn still finds herself doubled over.

"Gotta watch for those, Dawnie. Block and block. Don't watch my hands and feet, watch my eyes, my face."

"Hey, B. Go a little easy on her. She's not a slayer, ya know" Faith calls over to Buffy.

" I can't go easy on her, Faith. She has to be ready. She's not facing street gangs here… this is serious stuff. She has to be prepared"

" Give her a break, B. She's been at it for an hour. She's tired" Faith rejoins.

" No breaks on the battlefield, Faith. You know that. I can't keep her outta this, so if she's gonna be there, she's gotta be ready"

"There's gonna be thousands of slayers in the battle, B. Not likely she's gonna have to do hand to hand" Faith is getting a little exasperated at Buffy's relentlessness.

" Who do you think they're gonna go for first? Us, Faith. I gotta get her ready. It's tough, but it's necessary" Buffy replies, quietly

" I don't think a break is gonna kill her, B" Faith says.

"Fine. Take 5, Dawnie. But bring the quarterstaffs when it's over. Time for a little weapons training" Buffy growls a little.

Things had been changing for the four women since the blow up at the first meeting. Maybe it was the fact that they were putting their lives on the line again, maybe it was because they found a common goal, or maybe they realized this might be the last time they would be together like this. Whatever it was, they started breaking down the walls separating them, and started getting closer. Buffy and Faith moved back into Willow's,  with Dawn and Willow sharing a room, that left the third bedroom for Giles. Using Willow's expertise, they set up a secured network for Giles' research. It wasn't like his books, but he adapted.

It wasn't all kisses and hugs, though. They still had fights. Nerves could get frayed. Tempers flared. But they no longer brooded over it, no longer let it split them. They were a team now, they shared a common enemy, and a common goal. And they started hanging out together, like the old days. At least for now, they had recaptured that camaraderie that made them stronger.

" How's Willow doing with her weapon training, Faith?" Buffy asked, during the pause. Faith gives her a little smirk.

"She's getting better with an axe, and her crossbow accuracy is good. And she's not using magic to cheat anymore"

"Good. I know they can't be perfect Faith." Buffy sighs. " But I gotta drive them hard, nonetheless. I  need them to be able to defend themselves if it comes down to it."

Buffy looks at the other women as they train. Faith is working with Willow on weapons… and occasionally ducking when one of Willow's  swings goes a bit wild. Dawn is in the corner, leaning on the wall. She is sweating, and breathing hard.

She hates having to drive them so hard. She wishes she could ease up a bit on them, but she also knows that unless she is tough now, they might not make it. Somehow, she is once again de facto leader of the group. Although she encourages discussion on decisions, they defer to her judgment. She once again feels that massive weight on her shoulders, something she had hoped she wouldn't have to carry again. She is not, however, the same person she was last time they faced something like this. Now, she listens carefully to what they say, and bases her decisions on input from the others. She is doing her best to avoid the mistakes she made in the past. Even more than in their battle with the First, Buffy has progressed into a mature leader. She has found that iron she needs to make the tough decisions. She makes Faith work with her in the decision process. Faith is a natural leader herself; stylistically, they differ, but both have the charisma and the natural sense of responsibility to lead. And Buffy wants her to, needs her to. Faith still lacks confidence, but Buffy lends her support and encouragement to her, and she is getting better.

After training for awhile longer, Buffy realizes the other two are done for the day. Pushing them any further will just be pointless. And anyway, she needs a break too. All work and no play really sucks.  

"Hey, guys enough for today. Lets do something else. Let's go out. Do something fun"

" I don't know, Buffy… kinda pooped. Had big work out today" Willow says, sweating. " Anyway, should do some research on this Chaos stuff. Ya know…maybe something to defeat it?"

"Yeah, Buffy. You drove us pretty hard. Going out…ugh" Dawn says, still feeling a bit punchy.

" Well, B. I guess we gotta let them stay home… How about you, me, fun? Sound good?" Faith says. Fun sounds good to her.

"Well…I guess we can leave the old Grannies at home" Buffy pouts. She really wanted everyone to go.

" Grannies? Who you calling Granny?" Dawn says. "I can out do you any day, Buffy" 

"OH…is that why your acting like pooped girl then, Dawnie?" Buffy asks.

"B. Maybe Dawn and Willow want to… you know" Faith arches her brow and grins.

Buffy grins evilly "Well, if they wanted to get all hot and sweatier…" She giggles " They just coulda said so"

" Hey. HEY! What do you think? I'm just sex-maniac girl here?" Willow asks, " I mean, I have a perfectly good excuse… er… reason  for staying home. I got research to do"

"Research?" Buffy snorts. "Yeah, once my sister starts hangin' over you, and nibbling your ear, and breathing heavy on your neck…I know what kinda 'research' you'll be doin', Will" Buffy chuckles. " But if you two wanna be party poops…"

"So not fair, Buffy" Dawn says. " Some of us are serious here"

"Yeah, seriously horny" Buffy replies. Dawn blushes a nice deep red.

"K, fine, Buff" Willow says. "We'll go, just to show you we're not some kinda sex fiends"

"Ah, no Will" Buffy says, mockingly " You've got your 'research' to do. Far be it from me to keep you from your glowy terminals…"

" No, Buffy, we're going!" Dawn says, a little pissed. " I can out dance, out party you any night. C'mon, Will. Lets go get cleaned up before the Grandmas here change their minds" . With that, Dawn and Willow huff out of the room.

Buffy stands there with a satisfied grin on her face. Faith looks at her. She begins to grin, too.

"Ya know something, Blondie? You're mean. You're evil" She smirks. " I love it!"

"You betcha, Dimples. And I can dance your sorry ass off, too" Buffy grins at her

" No way, Blondie. You dance like an old lady"

"Better than you , Granny"

"No way"

"Way"

Laughing, the two slayers leave.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Angel has hardly slept in days. His eyes are red rimmed, and he tired. So tired. The dream keep coming to him, not letting him sleep… the dream on the battle field. He wakes up, and cannot go back to sleep. It haunts him.

He is sitting in his chair in his office. His eyes are heavy, he can barely keep them open. He is on edge, he has yelled at everyone today. He needs to sleep. Sleep. He looks longingly at the sofa in his office. He buzzes Harmony, tells her he is not to be disturbed.  
  


I'll just lie down for a second. Just close my eyes for a second. 

He drifts into sleep.

Angel 

He hears a voice. It feels like he has just closed his eyes. He tries to ignore it.__

_Angel. Help me, Angel. Help us, Angel_

He rolls over, trying to shut the voice out. But it won't go away.

_Angel. Help me, Angel. Help us, Angel. Please, Angel, help me. Help us._

He rolls over, and opens his eyes. His face registers shock

Standing before him is Buffy. She is dressed in white, her blonde hair flowing behind her. She is stretching her arms out to him, imploringly.

Angel, Please, lover. Help me. I need you. Help me 

"Buffy?" Angel asks in a whisper

_Angel. Help me. Help us be free, lover. Help us be free._

"Help you? How can I help you, Buffy?" Angel asks. His mind is confused.

_Free us, Angel. We're trapped. We need your help to free us. _

"Where? How? Where are you, Buffy?" __

_It's cold here Angel, and dark. We need your help, Angel. Help free us. Then we can be together._

" I don't understand, Buffy. Where are you? How can I help free you? " Angel asks.

It's dark, and cold. I'm scared, Angel. So scared. Please, please help us. Help us be free. I want to be with you, Angel. I miss you, lover. Please, please help us be free. I'm scared. Please help me!

"How, Buffy? How?" Angel, his mind bent, not understanding. Only seeing Buffy, the one he loves with all his heart, scared and alone.

Help Cordelia. She knows how to free us, Angel. Please, baby, it's so cold and dark here. I'm afraid. Please, please Angel. Help Cordelia. She will show you. Then we can be together, baby. Forever.

"Help Cordelia? How? What do I do?" Angel asks. 

She will tell you what you need to do, Angel. Follow what she says. Then we will be free. I will be free. Free to love you, Angel. 

"This is a trick. I know it's a trick" Angel says. He's trying to fight , but is losing the battle. He wants to believe, so desperately.

It's not a trick, Angel. It's me.

The image of  Buffy seems to shimmer…then she walks towards him. She touches his cheek. Angel feels her warmth. She leans into him and kisses him gently on the lips. But the kiss has hidden fire.

I can't stay solid, love, for more than a few seconds. Not now. But if you help Cordelia, if you free us, I'm yours forever, my love. As I'm meant to be. Our destiny . To be together

"To be together. Yes, our destiny" Angel repeats. He has lost the fight. His heart has been won. He needs to free Buffy. He has to free Buffy.

As he watches, the image of Buffy begins to fade. Her words get distant, but ring in his ears.

Soon… lover….we'll … be … together…

"Together. Yes. Together" Angel repeats.

His eyes open, and he knows what he must do

He must save Buffy.

He must help Cordelia.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The girls have wound up in a little dance club called the Blu Move. They are all on the dance floor, letting the day and the tension out in dancing. Despite their earlier protestations, Willow and Dawn are ripping up the dance floor. A heavy techno-pop beat is playing, and they are moving hot and low and in time. The slayers are also moving to the rhythm , letting their bodies go in sync. It's sensually erotic to watch. Their eyes are locked. It's almost like watching a mating dance. The sheer joy the took in moving was clear; other couples stopped to watch them. The song ended, and the two slayers decided to sit out the next one. They went to the bar, and ordered drinks.

" Oh, man I needed that" Buffy says, as she takes a swallow of her drink. Her face is flushed, and it's obvious she's enjoying herself.

Faith grins, looking out on the dance floor. Dawn and Willow are still at it, dancing furiously to the beat "Seems they needed it too, B."

Buffy looks out on the dance floor, and giggles. "Yeah, looks like the grannies found some energy after all. Imagine if we hadn't brought them out? They woulda broken poor Will's bed" Faith looks at Buffy, and laughs.

"Yeah, and we  would've broken her other one. Poor G, the moaning and screaming would've turned his hair white" 

"Doesn't mean we won't break it yet" Buffy looks at Faith, and runs the tip of her tongue along her upper lip.

Faith looks at Buffy , and shakes her head ' Gee, B, just get me hotter than I already am' She leans over to Buffy, and they share a hot little kiss.

The music stops, and Dawn and Willow join them at the bar. Willow and Dawn are smirking at them

"Well, well…looks like Buffy and Faith pooped out first, Willow" Dawn says.

" No way, Lil nut" Faith says, " We just wanted to get off the dance floor before you two broke through it with that tromping you call dancing" 

"Yeah, well… I can dance better than you any day, Faith. You're slower than a glacier, babe"

" Really? Let's see" Faith is up, and grabs Dawn's arm " I'm borrowin' your dance partner, Red. I'll try to bring her back in one piece" They move off to the dance floor.

Buffy and Willow sit at the bar, watching them dance.

"So, Will, how're you doin'?" Buffy asks

" I'm doing fine, Buffy" Willow replies. Her face is flushed, and she's all smiles.

" Yeah, you look like you are" Buffy comments, maybe a little relieved.

There is a pause. Then Buffy continues.

" So… ummm… you and Dawnie, then?" Buffy asks.

Willow hesitates for a second, then answers. " I hope so, Buffy. Dawnie is a real sweetheart. She acts like a brat, sometimes, but she's very sweet and generous… but, it's still a little too soon"

"Yeah" Buffy answers. She is looking away. There's a long pause. The Buffy turns back to Willow. Her face is a little sad.

"Think we'll ever get it back, Will? Buffy asks, a tinge of regret in her voice.

"Get it back?" Willow replies, not sure what Buffy means.

" You know, Will… that sense of ease we had around each other? That best friend goodness? How we could talk to each other without watching what we said? Even if sometimes it hurt?"

Willow looks a bit sad, also. " I don't know, Buff. I… just don't know. I mean, our lives have changed. Even before 'this' happened, our lives had kinda… grown apart. We've become different people from the ones we were in Sunnydale. I'm not sure we can ever have that kind of closeness again"

Buffy is quiet. She says, in a small voice " I guess. But I … really miss it Will, I really do"

"Me too, Buffy. Me too"

There is another pause.

" Will?"  Buffy asks

" Yeah, Buffy?" Willow replies

" Do you think" Buffy begins, then hesitates… then goes on, "Do you think maybe, when this is all over, we can try again? I mean, to be best friends? I … really care about you , Will. And I miss you. I want you to be part of my life."

Willow smiles. It's a smile full of hope, and sadness. " I'd like to try Buffy, I want to . I miss you too."

Both women look out on the dance floor, watching the people as the music continues.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Well, for the One millionth time, Joss Whedon and those crazy creatures at Mutant Enemy, Inc. own 'em. I just borrow them from time to time.

Author's Note: Ok, somebody forced me to get out my soapbox again, and I'm truly upset having to do it.

I don't care if you send ME flames. I mean, I will just consign them to the b-b-q pit with all the rest of them. Getting flamed when you're writing something is part of the thing, I guess. So, this is not about me.

I do care, however, if one of you decides to flame another reviewer, using rather coarse and vulgar language. You know who you are, so I'm not going to name names. But, I do find it rather juvenile to object to someone else's valid opinion. Grow up! People are going to have opinions you don't like. Get over it. You have NO RIGHT to make it personal. And, using foul language just shows two things. 1- you're rather childish. 2- you lack imagination(vulgarity is the last resource of the ignorant).

I admit I use some vulgarity in my stories, but that has to do with the character(s) I'm portraying. 

Alright, I'm straying from the point. The point is, I expect you, as readers, to respect each other's opinions, and not flame each other. I hope we're all grown up enough here to get along. Thanks for letting me rant.( Kicks soapbox back under bed).

Again, thank you one and all for your reviews. ALL are appreciated, ALL are respected. Hopefully, by ALL.

Now, lets see what happens next, shall we?

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now? 

Chapter 21

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy is dreaming.

In her dream, she sees Angel. He is trapped in a cage, somewhere. It's dark except for one light in the center of the room, over his cage. His jailer is turned away from her. It's wearing a black robe with red designs on it. The being turns towards her. She cannot make out its face, but its eyes glow a dull red under its cowl. It says a few words in a language she cannot understand, and suddenly the roof around the cage is opens up… not directly above, but in a pattern around it, sealing the cage within a square of sunlight. Angel puts his hand through the bars, attempting to grab at his Jailer. But it hits the sunlight, and it burns. He draws it back in. She runs over, finding a sword suddenly in her hands. She attacks the Jailer, but when the sword hits, the robe goes limp and pools on the floor. She reaches towards the cage, trying to open it. But the sunlight begins to burn her also.  They look at each other, separated by the light. Slowly, the cage is filled with a dull red light, and Angel and the cage begin to glow in the light. Slowly, at first, the cage begins to spin, then it moves faster and faster until it dissolves into the light. The light expands, and she finds herself also enveloped in the light

The light changes from red to an intense blue white. She and Faith are in the light, clasping hands. With them are Willow and Dawn, also clasping hands. Willow is chanting something, but she cannot quite make it out. She can hear the sounds of a battle around them. She looks at Faith…and Faith's face takes on an expression of perfect peace. She looks at Buffy, and smiles. " You're ready?" Faith asks. Then Buffy feels an intense pain, and  like something is falling away. A joyous sense of peace and love surrounds her, and she feels herself being pulled up, up, up… just as she hears Willow says the words " Let that which has been revealed, be hidden. Let that which has been open, be closed"…. She feels free…and weightless…and has a perfect sense of joy.

She now is in a field somewhere. It's summer. The grass is green, and cool. It's in the shade, out of the heat of the sun.  She looks around, and there are trees and flowers everywhere.  She sees someone walking towards her. After awhile she realizes it's Faith. She knows they are on a picnic, because there is a blanket spread out, and it's covered with all sorts of picnicky goodness. Faith  reaches her, and sits down. She smiles, and picks up a sandwich. " Man, I'm starving" Faith says. She munches on the sandwich, while Buffy watches her. " Hey, Blondie? Aren't you gonna eat?" Buffy looks at her, and says " I can't use all of this" to which Faith replies " Just take what you need."

Faith picks up a soda, and pops the tab. She looks at Buffy again and says " Hey, what do you think? Wicked cool dream, huh?" 

Buffy opens her eyes. She is facing Faith, who at that second opens her eyes.

They look at each other, and say only… " Wow".

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"That's so weird. Never shared a dream before" Faith says. She is up, walking around.

She looks over to where Buffy is sitting on the bed. Buffy is staring down at her hands, which are clasped on her lap. She has a small worried frown on her face. Faith walks over, and sits next to Buffy on the bed.

"B, what is it?" Faith asks, concerned by the look on Buffy's face.

"This isn't the first time" Buffy says, quietly.

"I don't get ya, B" Faith says. "Whatta you mean?"

"It's not the first time we've shared a dream, Faith" Buffy answers. Her voice is quiet, but anxious.

"Ummm… is this where the spooky music starts? Cause I don't ever remember sharing a dream with you" Faith says. " Or anyone else."

" It was nearly six years ago, Faith. After I…" Buffy stops, again seeing the knife in her hand, going into Faith. Feeling the guilt. "… stabbed you, and you jumped off the roof onto that truck. You were in the hospital, in a coma. I was next to you, because Angel had drained my blood to recover from the poison. I… we  ….had a dream. We were back in your apartment. We were talking…and you told me how to defeat the mayor. You told me to use his human weakness. And you said some things in that dream which you also said in this dream…. I wasn't sure, but now I'm sure. We shared a dream before, and it was important."

"That's nuts, B. Why would I have…" But Faith stops. Something inside her, something in her gut, tells her B is telling the truth. Even if she can't remember it, it happened. She looks at Buffy. She feels her heart tighten in her chest.

"This isn't good, is it?" Faith asks. Buffy merely shakes her head.

"Angel's in trouble, isn't he?" Faith asks.

"Yes. Somehow, somewhere he's trapped."

They look at each other for a minute, then look away.

"There's more, Faith" Buffy says, her tone more anxious now.

"What B?" Faith asks. She isn't sure she wants to hear.

" The last time I felt that sense of perfect joy, perfect peace?"

Faith looks at her, the question on her face " When, B?"

"It was after I jumped off the tower. To seal the portal between the dimensions" Buffy starts, but Faith finishes.

"…when you died, stopping Glory" Faith feels her stomach drop. She felt that feeling, too.

Buffy nods.

Both slayers sit, lost in their thoughts.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

 Willow is staring at the computer screen. She can't believe what she is seeing.

A spell… to close a dimensional portal, almost as if it had been written for this prophecy. This is just too perfect, she is thinking.

Then she reads further about the spell… and realizes she was right…or wrong, depending on how you look at it. It was 'too' perfect.

At that moment, Giles walks into the room. His expression is worried. Willow looks up at him, and catches his expression.

"Giles? What is it? What's wrong?" Willow asks.

 " I just had a call from Wesley. It seems things have changed in L.A.  Wolfram and Hart seems to be focal point for some serious mystical convergences. Also, Angel seems to be 'no longer available' to anyone, including Wesley or Fred. He is in his office, but doesn't allow anyone to approach him, with the exception of Cordelia Chase. They appear to be working together on something. Something secret. And there seems to be a new security force at Wolfram and Hart. A group of young women…dressed in black…with extraordinary strength and …" He is interrupted at this point. By Faith.

"That would be The Program, Giles" Faith says. Her face is grim.

"The Program? I …I've never heard of that" Giles says, a bit puzzled.

" It was a secret program started by Angel and me, using Wolfram and Hart resources to train an army of 'secret slayers'. They were to remain unknown to anyone, until a time they were needed. Like now" Faith says, "But things went weird a few months ago…and now, I guess they are being used instead by the other side" Faith is blaming herself for her part in the secret program.

"Faith. Do you realize what you've done?" Giles says, quietly angry. "Because of your actions, they now have an army, trained in our techniques. Along with the horde of demons we will face, now we have a counter-slayer force to deal with. Organized, trained by you, well disciplined. Who knows how else they've been enhanced since you were there… this really was…" But Giles is interrupted by Buffy, coming downstairs.

"Giles!" Buffy's tone is low, but carries steel behind it. " You should be thanking Faith, instead of giving her grief. If not for her, the council, myself included, would still be ignorant of the coming threat. You have no idea what she has gone through. It's not her fault that someone brought back a demon instead of Cordelia. It's not her fault that this 'thing' made it look like she was going psycho, and myself, too. By the way, want to thank you for the vote of confidence when I got fired at the Training center. So back off, Giles, or go back to England." Buffy ends up in Giles' face, not looking at all pleased.

"Buffy…I" Giles begins, but again is cut off.

"No Giles. None of you here have any idea what Faith's been through. How much she put into that program. Her heart, her soul. To watch it perverted by Wolfram and Hart… someone the council didn't seem to mind getting in bed with when it needed help rebuilding, as I remember. And why did she do it? Because, she felt she still had to atone her past wrongs. Is no one ever gonna give her a break? Does everyone forget how she helped us save the world last time? But no, she still tries to make good on an old debt that shoulda been cancelled long ago. So, if you don't like this Giles, too bad. I fired the council once. Believe me, I can do it again. Then you can figure out how you're gonna handle this, cause she and I'll be outta here."

"B… it's ok…I know G was only…" Faith says. Want to guess who interrupted? Good guess.

"No, Faith, it's not ok" Buffy's voice is quieter when addressing Faith. " Look, if you're going to dump this stuff on my shoulders, again, Giles, then I'm not going to take time worrying about backbiting. We're a team . That means, we are in this together. I'm not putting up with stuff going on behind my back. I haven't forgotten what you and Robin tried to pull on Spike last time out… I haven't forgotten a lot of things. If I'm gonna have to do this, then it goes my way. And my way says, we work together, and stop the behind the back stuff. I've enough to worry about, without worrying my team isn't onboard and working as a team. There is no time for this. Are we clear?"

Willow is stunned. She can't remember ever seeing Buffy this forceful, this confident before. Especially with Giles. She smiles. She likes it!

"Very clear" Giles says. He is stung… but secretly proud of Buffy. His respect for her just went up 10 fold.

Faith is overwhelmed. If it were possible, her love for Buffy just increased 100 fold.  No one has ever done what Buffy just did for her… if it weren't for the people present, she would throw Buffy on the floor and do her right here. But that might ruin what Buffy just did. However, they might owe Willow for a new bed tomorrow.

" Ok, if that's settled, how are we progressing on finding something to defeat Mr. Big Bad?" Buffy asks.

"Actually, Buffy, I think I might have something" Willow says. She waves them over to the screen she is sitting at.

"Umm… where's Dawnie?" Buffy asks. She just noticed her sister isn't here.

"Well… actually, Buffy she's still sleeping" Willow says. " I think Faith wiped her out with that little dance contest they had last night " She smiles.

"Oh. I see. Faith wore her out, huh?" Buffy grins. " I guess those bedsprings I heard then didn't have anything to do with it?" Buffy grins at Willow. Willow turns nearly as red as her hair.

"Buffy, fascinating as your sister's…love life is,  I really think we need to get back to the matter at hand" Giles interjects.

Buffy smiles, and walks over to Giles, giving him a little poke. Its by way of making up having to be harsh with him a little earlier. " Lighten up, Giles. I'm sure you've made at least a bedspring or two squeak in your time" She giggles.

Giles gets a little pink in the cheeks. He removes his glasses, and cleans them. "Yes, well" he says, replacing his glasses, " What did you find, anyway, Willow?"

Willow points to the screen, and starts to explain about the spell. The faces around the computer screen get a bit grimmer. Faith and Buffy exchange a look.

"Thing is, Giles, I can't do this alone. I'll need Buffy, Faith and Dawn with me. Evidently it needs the combined energy of beings with mystical energy." She hesitates, and continues. "Also, there are some serious risks involved." She points out more about the spell to the others. No one looks particularly pleased.

" Perhaps, if we're fortunate, we'll be able to stop this before we need to use this" Giles says. But he didn't look too convinced. " In any case, find out what you'll need to do this spell, Willow. Things seem to be coming to a head. I believe that we're going to have to move our operations to L.A. That seems to be the focal point of the opposition."

"Gee, Giles, and I was just getting used to having frosty toes in the morning" Buffy quips

" I'm certainly not. Those toes of yours could give goose bumps to an ice cube, B." Faith retorts

"Look who's talking, Ms. Soaks-her-feet-in-ice water-before-bed. " Buffy shoots back.

"Well, at least we won't have to dress like polar bears before going out" Faith says, starting to walk away.

"Yeah, and maybe we can get some decent Mexican food. What is it, they've never heard of fajitas out here?" Buffy says, following Faith out.

"Hey, guys" Willow says, running after them " We gotta hit El Cholos. I need my fix"

"Yeah, well… first thing, The Galleria. This snow has played hell on my shoes" Buffy says, her voice floating back

" B? Is that all you ever think of?" Faith chides her

Giles face is a mask of worry 

"We're doomed" He says, sighing.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Sorry, guys. Massachusetts great in winter, if you like sub-freezing temps. However, our slayer needs her sun. R&R, Please =)


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Well, I guess I can say it again. I think I have to, whether I want to, or not. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. own these characters. They keep them in pretty little boxes so I can take them out and play with them. Fun!

Author's Note: I guess not much to say. Things are moving towards the final confrontation. 

I'm hereby giving VixenRaign credit for the great nickname for Kennedy. Sorry to steal it, but it's just so great

(read her work, you'll love it)

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now? 

Chapter 22

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Somewhere in the Wolfram and Hart building( or at least, accessible from there )

Cordelia and Angel are in a small room. The room is rather dim, only lit by a few lamps scattered about. Cordelia is holding something in her hand.

Angel is there… but not there. If you look at his face, it seems to be blank. No expression really at all. He is not seeing what the rest of us are seeing. He sees a dark place, somewhere he knows that Buffy is being held against her will.  He knows Cordelia is close, he can hear her. But he doesn't really 'see' her.

"When? When do we find Buffy?" Angel asks. He is obviously anxious and impatient.

"Soon, very soon, Angel" Cordelia answers him. She looks at him pensively, almost… regretfully.

It turns out that Angel simply couldn't be corrupted. She sighs. It's really too bad, it would have been good to have him as a partner in the new order(or, lack of order) of things. But no matter the Magicks,  he fought it. So, she had to settle for a mind clouding spell. Something to make him easily manipulated. It could be dangerous… no telling if he could break it. But his mystic energy is key to opening the dimensions, and he had to be brought onboard somehow. She shrugs. Oh, well, it will probably kill him , anyway.  She addresses him

"We have to prepare you . You need to wear this" She shows him the amulet in her hand. "It will help open the portals between the dimensions, and then we should be able to free Buffy and the others."

She puts the amulet over his head, and around his neck. Out of it come some spiked arms, which clamp into Angel's chest. He screams at the pain and shuts his eyes… but it's over quickly. The red stone in the center of the amulet begins to glow. When he opens his eyes, they are glowing a dull red.

She smiles. She hands him the glowing sword, which he holds. It's like a part of himself. He lifts it, and feels the power of it rush through him. He smiles a small, tight smile.

"The sword is very powerful, Angel. It should be able to kill anything that threatens our friends" The thing that looks like Cordelia says.

"Can we go now? She's in danger! I need to find her, to rescue her" Angel says. His impatience with all this is rising.

"We have a few more things to ready. Then we will go" Cordelia says.

And nothing will be able to stop us. Soon, the masters will be free. They will inhabit their vessels, and rule this world.

A small smile creeps onto her face at the thought.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

They began coming to L.A.

Never in large groups, but separate. But the numbers built up as the time grew closer.

The came as students, as tourists, as visitors. Any excuse to deflect from their real purpose. 

They came to group. To prepare. To fight. To save the world

They are the Slayers. The Chosen ones.

Amongst them is one more familiar to us. Raven haired, small in stature, but no one would mistake her toughness. She stands alone from the crowd, her stance full of grace and power. Her face is a study in contrasts. Her mouth is set in a grim line. Her expression seems to say " Don't EVER mess with me". But her eyes, her eyes are telling. They have a mischievous glint to them… but there is also pain, and sadness. They can be hard as flint, but seem to have softened from what she has seen in her short life.

She is dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, a simple t-shirt and an army coat. She is always ready these days to fight at a moment's notice.

She's approached by a group of people. Her eyebrow arcs up when she sees who they are. A small smile comes to her face.

"Kennedy! It's good to see you" Buffy says. She walks over and , to everyone's surprise, especially Kennedy's, hugs her. Kennedy's face scrunches for a moment, but then relaxes. She finds herself returning the hug.

"Hey, Ken-doll…what's the haps?" Faith interjects. She loves how Kennedy gets all pissy when she calls her that.

"Hey, Faith. I see you're as…." She notes the look from Buffy…hmmm…and tones it down " sweet as ever" the sarcasm drips.

"Don't sweat it Kenny…I just had to see if you had that fire I remembered" Faith chuckles. She pulls Kenny in and gives her a hug. Geeze, what's with all the touchy-feely here? Kennedy wonders to herself.

Kennedy disengages herself, and walks over to Willow. The two women look at each other, assessing . To say it's awkward is truly the definition of understatement. Finally, in a quiet voice, almost shy, Kennedy speaks.

"Hey, Will. How are you?" Her emotions are all mixed

" Hey, Kenny" Willow replies. She stills cares about Kennedy, despite what's happened. " How have you been? Long time since I heard from you"

"Been good. Been busy. Going from center to center, doing some teaching, advancing my own training. Fighting, of course" Kennedy replies. Going around with my heart broken, she thinks silently. "How 'bout you?"

"Yeah, busyness . Doing the Wicca thing, the computer thing" She grins ruefully. "And of course, here I am in another Apocalypse"

"Yeah, we'll have to get together when the world isn't ending, sometime" Kennedy says. Fat chance of that.

"Yeah" Willow says. Not likely, that, huh?

"Hello, Kennedy" Dawn says, her voice a little frosty.

Kennedy looks at Dawn … and sees how she's looking at her. And at Willow. Oh, boy, she thinks.

"Hi, Dawn" She says, smiling at her. She can see something is up here, and knows she'd better play it cool. Dawn doesn't look too happy to see her. She would hate to tussle with Dawn, and hurt her. She likes Dawn. Never mind a certain blonde slayer may take it in her mind to kick her ass afterwards. 

" ' K, now that I got the welcome wagon… how come? I mean, just another slayer here. How'd I rate?" Kennedy asks.

"Thought maybe we could discuss that back at the Center" Buffy interjects. " Where's the rest of your luggage?"

"This is it" Kennedy says, indicating her carryon.

Faith looks at Kenny, and feels a deep empathy. She knows how it  is going from place to place, your life in a bag. God, I never want to be there again. "Well, I'm sure we can get ya anything else ya need" Faith says.

They turn to leave the airport. On impulse, Faith puts her arm around Kennedy's shoulder, telling her silently it's all going to be fine.

.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Kennedy sat stunned.

She had known this was going to be a biggie. But she hadn't known 'til now just how big.

2000 slayers… and they put her in charge of them.

"So, Kenny? Think you can handle it?" Buffy asks, seeing the expression on Kennedy's face.

"Ummm… why me?" She asks, still in shock.

"Look, Ken-doll" Faith says. " This aint no random decision. We checked up on you, and your record at the training centers. You've done great stuff. So, we figured, B and me, that you could handle this. Can you?"

"How come you guys aren't leading them?" Kennedy asks.

"Cause, we have other things we have to do during the fight" Buffy replies. " Things we can't be distracted from. I need someone I can trust to lead the girls, and try to keep 'em alive, as much as possible"

She looks at Faith, then at Buffy. Their expressions are unreadable. She thinks for a second. This is gonna be big. Big assignment. Can I do it? She thinks about what she's been doing since she became active. Small forays, leading fights against groups of demons. This is a whole lot bigger. But, if she's not confident, she's nothing.

" Ok, count me in. I can do it" She says.

"Another thing" Buffy says. " The bad guys have a force of counter-slayers" Faith's expression is grim. Buffy continues " They are disciplined and well trained. You're going up against them, and you might have to kill some…can you handle that?"

Kennedy's face is set. She nods.

"Good" Buffy says.

Giles speaks up at this point. " We believe we have located the area where the opposition is going to try to open the Portal. There have been sightings of strange sounds and lights in the Badwater salt flats in Death Valley. Also, the Coven in England has reported a surge in mystical energy in that area. It's growing daily. Our time is getting close. Days. A week at the outside, we think."

"You're not going to have much time" Buffy said. " Wish there was more. Believe me. You're gonna have to prepare fast and hard. Got it?"

"Got it" Kennedy replied.

"We've booked as many rooms as possible in the surrounding area. Even so, it's gonna be tight, at least 4 to a room. Privacy is not an issue… there is none. We'll be moving to the area within 3 days. After that, you'll be prepping the slayers for a big battle. I have a list of names for you to consider for squadron leaders, but it's up to you to make the final decisions on that. You'll have the three days to get to know them. I want them picked before we roll. Remember this. You're in charge. You answer to no one but Faith and me. Any questions?" Buffy asks

"Nope." 

"You know what to do. Get 'em ready for the battle of their lives. It's gonna be that, and more. Faith, anything to add?" 

" No, B, I think you got it covered" Faith responds.

"Ok, Kenny. You start now. Grab sleep when you can…and do it. Don't put it off. We don't have much time, but a punchy commander is no good to me. You got 3 days to get those interviews done, and to pick your commanders. Go." 

Kennedy stands up. " It'll get done" She says.

"We're counting on it" Buffy says. With that, Kennedy turns and walk out of the conference room.

After Kennedy has left, they go to other business.

"Any word on Angel, Giles?" Buffy asks. She is almost afraid of the answer.

" I spoke with Wesley again. There has been no communication with him for days. He and Cordelia are locked away somewhere, and no one can contact either of them"

A brief look of pain comes over Buffy's face, but then it sets hard. "We have to consider him a hostile then. It looks like he's joined the other side. Everyone realizes what that means?" She asks. She appears hard, but inside is hurting. This is tough, really tough.

Everyone nods. No one wants to say the it. Kill on sight.

"Will… are you ready? Have you got everything you need for that spell?" Buffy asks.

"Yeah, Buffy" Willow's voice is low. She is scared. She knows how dangerous this spell can be.

Buffy walks over, and puts a hand on Willow's shoulder. She leans over and whispers "It's ok, Will. We'll only use it if we have to". Buffy smiles at Willow to reassure her.

"Ok, guys, I think that's enough for tonight. Go home, get some rest. We gotta big day ahead tomorrow"

Giles, Dawn and Willow get up to go. Faith stands up, and looks at Buffy, asking silently 'you coming?'.

"Faith, stay a few. I need to talk with you, 'k?" Buffy asks.

"Sure B." 

The others leave. Faith closes the door behind them. When she turns back, she is surprised. The determined persona Buffy had been wearing has vanished. In place is Buffy at 16, facing another Apocalypse. Her eyes were worried, her face looking scared.

"B? What is it?" Faith asks. Her heart is heavy just looking at her lover.

"Did I do right? With Kennedy?" Buffy asks, her voice low, and anxious

"Yeah, B. I think you made a smart choice. She's not the same reckless girl she was when we faced the First. The years have matured her, she's grown up fast. She'll do a good job" Faith reassures Buffy. But it doesn't seem to be helping.

"God, Faith I don't have a clue here. I don't know what I'm doing" Buffy's voice is so low, it's nearly a whisper. "What happens if I screw this up? I've never led a group like this before. I could get 'em all killed, and for nothing.." Buffy's voice is beginning to tremble.

Faith comes over, and holds Buffy. " Buffy, it's ok… you're doing great. It's all gonna be great"

"God, Faith, I so scared" Buffy clings to Faith, her voice breaking. The tears begin to roll down her cheek " I'm so damned scared."

Faith tightens her hug. She pushes down her own fears, and comforts the older slayer.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

It's two days later.

Buffy has been more than pleased with Kennedy's progress. She submitted her choice for commanders a day early. She has also been around to the various groups, talking with them, encouraging them. Buffy is amazed at how much she has grown these last 2 years. She knows now in her heart she made the right choice. It eases her fears somewhat.

Faith and Buffy are at the shore. They are taking a private moment… something they haven't had in awhile. Tomorrow, they and the troops are moving out to the staging area. They wanted… no, they needed some alone time.

It's a cool winter afternoon at the shore. The overcast just cleared an hour ago, and the sun is beginning to set. They stand, watching the sun go down. They are wearing sweaters, jeans and boots. They are holding hands. They seem lost in their thoughts, and the moment.

Faith turns to Buffy, and watches her. She feels like she is falling in love with her all over again. It's always this way with her, when she has these times with Buffy. Her love swells in her heart for the smaller slayer. She …just looks so vulnerable and powerful at the same time. That's what Faith finds so endearing about her. She has this incredible physical and moral strength, she can face down demons and death, fearlessly. And yet, there is this quality of the little girl about her. Something that makes you want to take her in your arms and hold her and kiss her forever.

"B?" 

Buffy turns to Faith, and looks at her. She finds this incredibly strong woman next to her, and her heart is full of love for her. She is amazed at how many times Faith has saved her, pulled her back from the edge. But it's more, so much more. How much she supports her, makes her feel special, the most important person in the world. And how she makes her feel loved… like no one has ever made her feel loved. She smiles at Faith. Incredible is too limited a word to describe Faith to her.

"Yes, Faith?"

Faith takes Buffy's other hand in hers. She looks deeply into Buffy's eyes

" You know I love you, don't you B?" Faith asks.

"Yes, honey, I know that. I love you too, sweet thing" Buffy smiles back, and squeezes her hands.

"No, baby, I mean… you understand how much I love you? How much you mean to me?" Faith asks, her voice a little fretful.

Buffy's smile fades. She is a little concerned. "Faith, love, what are you saying?"

" Buffy… I need to know, that … if something happens…to me, that you understand how much I adore you. How much you mean to me."

"Baby" Buffy says, trying to reassure Faith…and herself "Don't talk like that. Nothing's gonna happen. We're gonna come out fine" She smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"B… Buffy….we have to be real, here. One of us…might not make it. And I need to know, if…I don't …that you know I love you, always will love you, no matter where I'm at. And… I need to know you'll go on…if you have to, without me"

Buffy drops Faith's hands, and turns away. She says, quietly, but with emotion, "No, Faith. I can't promise that"

"Buffy…Please…you have to promise me!" Faith says, her voice quivering.

" No!" Buffy turns back. Her face is red, and her eyes are full of tears. " You can't ask that of me. You can't! I … I can't live without you , Faith. If you die, everything I am dies with you. My heart, my soul, my very being…is nothing without you. You're my light, baby. My meaning. Without you, my life has no meaning. It's dark, pointless. I won't… I can't live that way. So, no. I would give you anything, anything I could. But I can't give you that."

"Buffy, please, please" Faith is starting to cry. "Please baby"

"No," Buffy is also crying. But she won't budge " I will give you anything possible, Faith. Anything. But…that is just impossible."

"Buffy…" Faith starts.

"NO!" Buffy shouts…then…seeing Faith so miserable, gathers her in her arms. " Baby, lets not talk like this anymore. We're gonna make it through, together." Buffy holds Faith, comforting her, cooing to her." You and me, baby, we're gonna always be together. Do you understand?"

"Always!"

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer:  I have nothing to say. I don't own them, and I never will. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, they own them. The fates can be so cruel.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes III 

Author's Note: So, da big bad is comin' to town. Don't they get it yet? They got evil, and hordes of Demons, and supernatural powers, and stuff… But we got….

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 23

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"SPIKE!!!"

Buffy looks at the bleach blonde vampire. Ok, maybe look is too mild a term. Mouth open in utter surprise might be closer. Per usual, he has his trademark grin, leaning against a wall… in the shadow. His lighter flicks, flames and he lights a cig.

"So, slayer. Having a little party and din't invite me? Must say I'm a bit hurt" Spike mocks.

"What're you doing here, Spike?" Buffy asks.

"Well, you know me. Always up for a bit o' rough and tumble. Here things could get fun" Spike says, enjoying the moment.

"How did you know we were here?" Buffy is puzzled.

"Well, B, actually, that would be me" Faith says, from behind her." I kinda let him know where we were"

Buffy looks at Faith, the question in her face.

"B… we can use all the help we can get. Even the undead kind" She smiles. " I admit Fang Jr. here…" Spike winces at the nickname. Faith continues "…isn't exactly my idea of Boy Toy of the year, but he's ok in a fight."

"Just ok, pet? Maybe we should go a few, just to educate you a bit?" Spike asks, mocking the dark slayer.

"Bring it on, Bleach Boy. Ready anytime you are. Brought my Hoover,  just in case" Faith toys with him.

"Knock it off… both of you" Buffy growls. Buffy turns to Spike.

"This isn't some little dash and slash, Spike. Apocalypse time, here. I thought maybe after the last one, you would like to sit this one out" After all they've been through, she considers Spike a good friend. Seeing him die once was one time too many.

" Look, Buffy. Did you really think I could just sit back and watch you put yourself on the line again? Ok, I admit. I wanted to, but this damned soul I have wouldn't let me. Bloody rot, it is. Ah, well, whatcha gonna do? Anyway, Faith called me to let me know where this little tea party was happening, and I came out. Admit, driving through the desert not my favorite pastime… but I'm here now, might as well use me, don't you think?" Spike has lost his grin. He's serious now.

Buffy sighs, but she's so not on board with this " Fine" She spits out, before she turns and storms off. Another thing to worry about, she thinks.

"She doesn't seem to pleased to see me" Spike notes.

" Give her time, she'll get used to it. I better catch up with her. " Faith says. She starts to follow after Buffy.

"Oh, and Spike? I know you have a soul and everything… but don't let me catch you sampling any of the locals? Ok? Or I'm gonna have to dust you… or sic a few hundred slayers on you" Faith shoots back at him.

"Bloody hell, Faith, you take all the fun out of it" Spike grins.

He watches as the younger slayer walks away. His eyes turn serious and take on a harder expression.

He doesn't have a good feeling about this

Not at all.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"a time to keep silence, and a time to speak"

"B…Wait up…WAIT UP… B… C'mon , B… Slow down!" Faith calls after the retreating form of Buffy.

Buffy halts. But her body language is not saying "hi, really happy to talk now". She waits for Faith to catch up, clenching and unclenching her fists.

"'K Faith, why?" Buffy asks, not turning around.

" Look, B. Thought we could use every bit of help we could get. We're going up against something pretty tough here." Faith explains, not liking talking to Buffy's back. " Mind turning 'round so I can see you?"

Buffy doesn't turn. " Didn't you think might be a good idea to talk to me before bringing him onboard?" She asks.

"Ummm… why? I mean, haven't you been telling me 'Faith, make decisions, I'll back you. Trust me. So, I do. And what? Where's the backing?" Faith is beginning to get a little pissed. "Dammit, B. Turn around. Making me talk to your back is just rude!"

Buffy turns around. Her expression is grim "This is different, Faith."

"How's that, B?" Faith asks, feeling her irritation growing.

" You and me? We're stuck with this. As are the slayers. I'm not real happy having Dawn and Will involved. Though doesn't seem I have any choice there. And Giles. He's not exactly commando material. I was trying to keep out anyone that didn't need to be involved. If I had a choice, you wouldn't be here either" She states.

"Wha-aa-at?" Faith asks, not at all liking that one.

Buffy colors a little " That didn't come out right. I meant, I love you being here. I just wish you didn't have to be here, that I could protect you from this. All of you" 

"Now, Spike is in the mix again. I was trying to avoid that. He died last time. It… hurt. I mean…Ok, that was then…things were different. We're not like we were. But, I still have affection for him. And I don't want to watch him die, again. Or you. Or Willow, or Dawnie. Or Giles. Hell, even Kenny." Buffy's voice has lost its harshness… it's tone is sad, if anything.

Faith comes up to Buffy, and takes her hand. She smiles, but it's sad, not happy " There you go again, B. Trying to save the world, and everyone in it, all by yourself. Trying to protect everyone, even if it costs you…everything." Faith's voice is gentle, but determined. "Well, News Flash, lil St. Buffy. We're not going for it. Sorry. You can't keep me, or Will, or Dawnie, or Giles outta this if you tied us down. And Spike? He was hurt…which really weirds me out…not used to this souled Vamp thing…but he was hurt that you tried to keep him out. You say you don't wanna watch us die. Well, same here, Girlfriend. We don't wanna watch you die, either. And frankly, we aint gonna. You got us, your stuck with us. Get over it."

Buffy's face has changed. It's lost its grimness, its hard set. It's the little girl face, vulnerable and sad… the one that makes Faith's heart melt like butter in a frying pan. " I'm sorry, Faith" She says, voice low.

Faith come over to Buffy, and encircles her waist with her arms. She smiles a small smile, and growls playfully "Well, you better damned well be". Faith can't seem to stay mad at Buffy for more than…oh…5 seconds at a time. She pulls the blonde slayer closer, and whispers in her ear.

"B, honey. We know you love us, and want to help us, and protect us. How 'bout, you let us love, and help, and protect you back?"

Buffy doesn't reply with words. She just puts her arms around Faith's neck, and pulls her into a tender, loving kiss.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"…a time to heal"

Willow approaches the door, and hesitates.

She is not sure she really wants to face her. But she has to. And, she has to give her this charm she made for her. 

She just wishes it wasn't so bad between them. Hadn't gone so wrong. But that was past now, and she still cares about her, cares deeply that she be safe. She knocks on the door.

"Come in"  the voice says, a bit distracted.

Willow enters.

Kennedy is reading  over some final preps she is doing for her troops. When she looks up, and sees Willow, she jumps to her feet. She feels… awkward, shy… and sad.

"Hey, Will." She smiles, but it's more a smile of nostalgia

"Hey, Kenny" Willow replies. She sees how Kennedy has changed. This is not the brash, overconfident Kenny she knew. This one is more… reserved, more thoughtful. Something in her wishes she had gotten to see this Kenny before… it happened.

"So, what can I do for you, Will?" Kennedy asks. It's painful for her to see Willow…and not be allowed to hold her.

" I brought this for you" Willow replies, holding up the charm.

"What's this?" Kennedy asks. A little trace of that old smile of her breaks out briefly on her face.

"It's for protection. To help keep you safe in the battle, Kenny. Its not much, but it might help" Willow says, finding herself smiling fondly at the slayer.

"Will… I… thanks…I… don't know what else to say" Kennedy says. She is overwhelmed by her emotions.

The pain, and guilt of their breakup comes rushing back to Kennedy. If only… if only. If only she had been stronger. If only she hadn't given into a moment of weakness.  But she did. And she lost everything that meant anything to her.

"You don't have to say anything, Kenny. I… still care about you. Care for you. I want to help keep you safe, in my own way" Willow  says.

When Willow had come home that day, unexpectedly, and found Kennedy in bed with that other woman, it was like a knife had cut through her guts. They'd had a bitter fight, saying things, awful things, that couldn't be taken back. Kennedy had packed and left the next day.

The next six months had been the bitterest of Willow's life. Buffy was in England, and couldn't be with her to help. Her friends were all far away. She had to face this alone, get through it alone. She had come out stronger, but there were times the ache was still there, still hurt so badly. Dawn had been the first one to break through her shell. To get closer to her, to touch her in her heart. She was still aching , between Buffy and Kennedy… but she knew someday Dawn would be a part of her life. If she had any say in it, that is.

But that didn't change the fact that somewhere in Willow, affection…even a small measure of love, resided for Kennedy. And that was why she was here tonight.

Kennedy turned away. Her eyes were misting over, and she didn't want Willow to see it. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

" Kenny, I…wanted you to know that I still care about you, despite what happened between us. I can't forget what you did, but I do forgive you.  What we had… I don't think that can ever be again. But, I still feel … something for you. So, I wanted you to have this"

"I'm  sorry, Will" Kennedy says, her voice trembling, " I've had lots and lots of time to think of what I did. I regret what I did, I regret what I said after. But mostly, Will, I regret hurting you. For that, I can't forgive myself" Kennedy's voice goes almost to a whisper at the last, and it's thick with emotion.

"Turn around, please, Kenny" Willow asks. Kennedy faces her, her face scrunched, the tears falling. Willow's heart goes out to her. She no longer hates her, only feels regret and sadness. She walks over, and gently brushes away the tears.

"Shhh, shhh Kenny" Willow says, and takes her into a comforting embrace. 

"Kenny, I forgave you. It's time you forgave yourself. It's time you move on. I have, you should too" Willow holds her, trying to comfort her.

When Kennedy has calmed, Willow gently breaks the embrace. She walks to the door, and turns.

" Be safe, Kenny. Don't take any foolish chances. There's a lot more of your life to live yet."

With that Willow turns, and leaves the room.

Kennedy watches her leave. She has nothing more she can say.

She continues to stare at the door, her hand unconsciously fingering the protection charm. 

And she cries.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing"

Buffy and Faith lay spooned under the sheets, basking in the afterglow of lovemaking

They are looking at each other, searching , burning into each others memory every detail they can about each other.

They know this is the last night they will be together before the battle.

Their lovemaking had been of a different quality tonight. It was not deeply passionate, or fiery, or rough. It was gentle, soft…but more born out of compassion and need. A need to touch each other, everywhere. Trying with their fingers and lips to burn the feel, the taste of each other deep into their minds. Every texture, every smell became important. Their eyes locked for a long time, trying desperately to read each other's soul.

They had fear. Fear that this could be the last time they ever were together like this. They both tried to shove away the thought, the pain to intense for either of them. But it kept coming back.

Their lovemaking had been nearly silent, only the tiny gasps, the heavy breathing being heard. It was as if they didn't want to waste any energy on sound, because all the other senses had to be satisfied.

And when the were done, sated at last, they held each other. Held onto each other as if it were the last time.

When they drifted into sleep, they each spoke the only words to pass between them since they started.

" I love you" Buffy murmured.

"I love you " Faith murmured.

And their eyes closed on the night.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The next day, the final day before the battle that evening, was spent moving everyone to the staging grounds. It was located some 25 miles outside of town, on the edge of the Badwater salt flats. It was a struggle moving that many people, along with their equipment and supplies. Towards mid afternoon, everything was ready. They were at the spot. They now just had to wait for night, when the opposition was due to appear.

Buffy, Faith, Kennedy and a small squad of the slayers had done recon on the area a few days prior. Even then, the mystical energy surrounding this place had been palpable. It was intense, and it was dark. Buffy hadn't let anyone step on the field that day. They didn't know what might happen, and she wasn't about to lose anyone finding out. They found an area that was reasonably safe to group the trucks, people and weapons. But no one had actually stepped onto the flats.

Everyone was assigned multiple weapons, which ranged from swords and axes and knives, to RPG's, flamethrowers, and rocket launchers.(Don't even ask where they got those). All were assigned to squad leaders, and they were told to stand down until the battle was started. 

Willow came to Dawn, Buffy and Faith, and gave each of them an Amulet to wear. Each , though similar in shape, had a different rune on it. The runes stood for each of their elements in the prophecy. She said they were an intricate part of the spell, and in case they needed to do the Sealing spell, they had best have these already. She had prepared the rest of the ingredients in advance, and had them secured in a place nearby.

Nervousness and excitement permeated the air. No more so, than with the Chosen Two. They moved off a bit, and found a place to be alone for a few minutes. They sat, side by side, watching the sun start to set. They sat silently, holding hands. Neither wanting to break the spell… hoping somehow they could freeze time here forever. Finally, as the sun was just a sliver on the horizon, Faith spoke.

"Nervous, B?"

" That doesn't even begin to cover it" Buffy replied. She squeezed Faith's hand.

They sat silent for a moment, then Faith asked " If you could be anywhere right now, B., where would it be?"

Buffy thought for a moment, then replied " Anywhere but here. And you with me"

Faith smiled.

She stood up, and pulled Buffy up with her.

" Lets go. We have some troops to rally"

Hand in hand, the slayers moved to the staging area.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

They stood before the Slayers, each a bit nervous.

This was a first for both of them, and they weren't known for their public speaking skills. 

But they knew they had to say something to fire up the women, so they did their best. Buffy started.

"We're going into a big battle, guys. Probably the biggest of our lives. It's gonna be tough. But we can do this. You're the best of the best, the cream of the slayers. I know you're nervous. So am I. But once the battle begins, it'll pass. Just let your training, what you've been working for all these years, carry you. Fight hard. Fight as a team. We're gonna win. We're gonna get through this. I know I can count on you all to give it your best. That's all I ask…" Faith interrupts her.

"B… I love you, but your losing them."

"Hey…You all ready?" She shouts. They shout back " YEAH!!!!"

"LETS DO THIS… LETS KICK SOME DEMON BUTT!!!!"

The women cheer…and they move off as a group to join the battle.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

TBC

Next… The Battle.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own them. I borrow them. Glad they don't read my stuff. They might shoot me.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?  
  


Chapter 24

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"… A time of war… a time to kill…"

And so, they joined the battle. The reckoning…the final settlement of accounts.

As the slayers moved onto the salt flats, the scene wavered before their eyes, and changed. No longer were they in the desert, but a dark place, the earth blasted and torn around them. They had been transported to another plane, a mystical field of battle.

And the battle was nearly lost, before they even began.

For as the slayers took the field, preparing to fight, huge fireballs hurtled out of the sky, striking at them, and their supplies. Fortunately, their training allowed most of them to avoid the escape the onslaught. But casualties were still heavy, and they lost a quarter of their force even before they began to fight.

Willow sniffed at the air, and her face grew grim. She looked at the others around her, and spoke one word.

"Amy" She said, her eyes growing darker

"How…can you tell, Will?" Buffy asked, puzzled.

"All magic has a signature, a 'scent', of the caster. And this stinks of Amy" Willow said. She closed her eyes, concentrating, focusing her mind to find Amy. At last, a small smile came to her face. An aura began to glow around her.

On the other side of the field Amy stood, casting fireballs. She was having a great time. She was still pissed off at Willow for telling her to shove off three years ago(man, can she hold a grudge). And she was getting well paid for this gig. So, what's not to like?

The air shimmered next to her, and Willow appeared at her side.

"Hey, Amy!" Willow said, brightly

"Willow!" Amy replied, smiling.

"So, how you been?" Willow asked solicitously.

" Evil. You?" Amy replied

" Me too. Got over it , though"

Pause in the conversation while the two witches assess each other. Willow speaks up.

"So, working for Wolfram and Hart now? The black hats?" Willow asks

"Evil, remember? Anyway, they got great medical and dental" Amy replies, firing up an energy ball.

" You know I'm gonna have to do something about this" Willow says, starting to chant low.

" Oh, really?" Amy asks. She turns to where Willow is standing, and throws the energy ball… it passes right through Willow, and hits a demon standing a distance behind her. He doesn't look too happy. Amy looks shocked.

"Huh?" She says, not believing what she sees.

Willow sighs. " You never learn, do you Amy? Projection here" She says.

Flash back to the camp. Willow is finishing up a spell… she is speaking low, but the last word can be heard, clearly

"Rat"

Flash back to Amy and Willow's projection. Energy begins to swirl around Amy, and her eyes grow wide.

" Oh…. Craaa….." She says, but is interrupted when the spell completes, and once again, Amy is a rat. She scurries off. The projection of Willow smiles, and fades out.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

After recovering from their little 'surprise', the slayers go on the attack. They run into a horde of Demons, and begin to show that their training wasn't in vain. Kennedy splits her remaining group into two, and runs a pincer maneuver on the group of demons. Hacking and slashing, kicking and fighting, the slayers slowly begin to whittle down the horde. It's a sight to behold. These young women, strong and resourceful, battle creatures sometimes twice their size. Their courage is inspiring. The battle is going well…they are beating back the horde…when out of the mists come another group… dressed in red and black.

The counter slayers. Faith's former 'secret slayers' now commanded by one of her former pupils. They attack the slayers, and the battle rages. Both groups are impressive. Disciplined, tough, they fight with courage and honor. Slowly the battle grinds to a stalemate, as each group is so well matched, neither can get an advantage. The battle continues, neither willing to give.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

In the center of the Field stand Cordelia and Angel. They are side by side.

"It's time. Time to begin the spell" Cordelia says, lifting the orb of Charnok.

Angel nods, his face grim. He still believes that opening the portal will free Buffy from a hell dimension she is trapped in. That is his only concern, to free his love. He raises the sword of Danacles above his head. It glows .

Cordelia begins to chant. It's in an unknown language, so this is only a rough translation:

" That which came before, shall come again" 

_"That which has been closed, shall be open" _

_"Let the walls that separate us fall, let the gates that are closed unlock" _

_"Now, now is the time for them to be free, to claim what is theirs" _

_" Let the seal be burned, and let those that are trapped come forth" _

Angel feels a searing pain throughout his body. The jewel of the amulet attached to him begins to glow. It shoots out an energy beam through the pommel of the sword Angel is holding, and the beam lashes out at the sky above. It's joined by a beam from the Orb, and the combined beam begins to burn a hole in the fabric of the Universe. Slowly, from that hole, a column of blackness descends, and meets with the earth close to where Angel and Cordelia stand. It has begun.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Back at the camp, Willow feels the rise in mystical energy. Looking towards where she feels it emanating, she sees the beams of light, and the descending column of black.

"Faith, Buffy… look!" She cries out, pointing towards the column.

Both slayers look where Willow is pointing. Their faces reflect shock. It's massive, and even they can feel the raw power of it. Slowly, the shock passes, and turns into determination.

"Go, hurry. They've started opening the portal. You gotta stop them before they can complete it" Willow says.

The two begin to run towards where Angel and Cordelia are standing, They are joined by a third figure, a certain platinum blonde vampire.

"Spike" Buffy calls out. " What the hell are you doing?"

" Slayer, I'm comin' along. Can't keep me back, pet. This looks like fun!" Spike says, grinning as he runs with the Chosen Two.

" Well, just don't get in our way, and try to keep up" Buffy calls, as she and Faith kick into high gear.

The two slayers run towards the Column, followed closely by spike. About 100 yards out, they run into an energy wall.

Both slayers are knocked off their feet. Spike, bringing up the rear, halts before hitting it. He is puzzled.

All three hear a voice in their mind… Willow.

"Damn. They must have erected an energy field. Nothing living can penetrate it. I will try to knock it down, but it'll take time"

Spike grins, and his eyebrow arches. Nothing living, huh? Hmmmm.

He approaches where the slayers hit the wall, and pushes…his hand goes through. Smiling, he turns back to the Fallen Two.

"Well, slayers, looks like I have a key to the door. Guess I'll go have a little chat with pouf boy and his paramour. Ta Ta for now" Spike says, and he passes through the barrier, running towards where Cordelia and Angel are standing

"Spike" Buffy calls out. Spike stops, and turns towards her.

" Yes, luv?" He grins.

" Be careful, ok?" She says, looking a little worried.

" Hey, I get to scuff up the prince of Gel…where's the bad eh?" Spike grins, and takes off.

"So, now what?" Buffy asks, trying to push through the barrier.

"Well, you can die" Said a voice behind her.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Spike, duster flowing behind him, runs towards where Cordelia and Angel are opening the portal.

Stupid sod, what the hell is he thinking anyway? Opening a portal to a hell dimension? I always knew that hair gel would rot his brains one of these days… not discounting he's half bonkers anyway. And all that brooding…where has it got him? Out on some field playing lackey to demons. Angelus I could see doing this. Angel? He's bloody well gone over the edge.

Spike halts a few yards away and looks things over. How the hell am I going to stop this mess? I wish the slayer was here. She'd have a clue… He looks at Angel, and sees the amulet on his chest, throwing off some kinda beam. Maybe if I can stop that thing, I can at least put a crimp in it. But how…don't have any real weapons…he checks himself, finding a stake. Hmmm…forgot about this. And hey, if I stake him in the bargain, all the good, far as I see.

Spike notes both of them are not paying attention to him. Rather, they are watching the portal… might have a chance at this yet.

He crouches down, and approaches Angel from behind.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy turns around, looking at the group of counter-slayers surrounding them. She grimaces. Well… not exactly what I wanted to do right now… but I guess not a real choice here. She goes into a fight crouch.

A tall blonde woman faces her. She is decked out in black and red, and has a hostile look on her face. She addresses Buffy.

" So, this is the mighty Buffy" She says, in an Irish lilt. " Heard all sorts of things about you. But frankly, thought you'd be taller"

" Yeah, I get that a lot" Buffy quips.

"Well, slayer, you and me got a little score to settle, I think" the woman says, holding up a sword. " Up to a bit of a fight?"

Buffy raises her hands. " No weapons, girlfriend"

"Not a problem," the other woman says. " Give her a sword, someone"

"Ya don't mind if she uses mine, do ya Sarah McClain?" Faith asks, back to them.

"You…how you be knowing my name?" Sarah asks, a bit taken aback

"I dunno…maybe cause despite that temper of yours, you were my best student" Faith says, turning around. She has her own sword drawn. " Care to go a few? Don't like people threatening my friends. Guess I take it personal"

Sarah's jaw drops. " FAITH? What the hell?"  
Faith smirks. " The one and only"

"It's a trick. You're dead!" Sarah says, dropping into a fighting stance.

Faith laughs. "Really…dead? Gee, I'm feelin' damned lively for dead"

Sarah thrusts out her sword, which Faith easily parries. She then tries to cross cut Faith, but Faith hits her flat bladed on the wrist, hard, making her drop her sword. Sarah stands, a little dumbfounded.

"Sarah, how many times I gotta tell you to guard against that? You do the same damned thing every time, and I get you every time" Faith scolds her…but not too hard.

Sarah crosses over to Faith, and lifts her in a huge bear hug. Faith laughs

"Whoa, whoa girlfriend. Chill. This is embarrassing, to say the least" Faith chuckles, as Sarah puts her down.

"We were told you were dead. That this one" Pointing at Buffy " Stabbed you"

"Hear that B. You stabbed me!" Faith chuckles.

"Damn Faith" Buffy mocks, " Now? You gotta bring that up now?" Buffy is beginning to grin.

" Sarah… reports of my 'death' are… bogus. As you can see, I'm standing right here. And B didn't do anything of the kind. So, can ya call off your dogs now?" Sarah orders her troops to stand down.

"I don't get it, Faith. They told us you had been murdered, by Buffy here, and that she had gone Evil, and was planning some big doom thing…So we're here, out to fight against her forces, and frankly, to kill her". Sarah says. She is looking more than a little confused.

" Ok, class time again, I guess" Faith says. "First of all, I'm not dead. Pretty obvious. Secondly, if you're goin' for Buffy, you'll have to go through me. And even IF you could get through me" Faith says, sarcasm dripping " She'd slice you in about 2 seconds, as she's better with swords than I am… much as I hate to admit it" She grins. " Third, if you're looking for who is doing the Apocalypse, take a look over my shoulder. Note… that is Cordelia and Angel over there, not us."

Sarah stands silent. Her face is red, and angry. She's confused. She doesn't like to be confused.

"You're sayin' then we've been duped?" She says. Her voice is getting hard.

"You betcha" Faith replies

Sarah thinks a moment, then calls over three of her girls. "Jenny, Erika, Beth. I want you to go to the squad leaders. Tell 'em to stop fightin' the slayers, and start kickin' the demon butt. If they don't, there's gonna be hell to pay, from me". The three girls grin at her, and take off.

Sarah walks over to Buffy, and stands before her. Her head is down, and she mumbles " I guess I owe you an apology"

"Ah, that's ok. Faith does that to people… confuse the hell outta them" Buffy smiles, taking a little jab at Faith.

Faith smirks " Look who's talking, Blondie"

"Shut up, Dimples" Buffy says. " Anyway, I kinda lied to you, Sarah. I was armed" Buffy reaches around, and takes the Slayer Scythe out of its harness. The other girl just stares at it. She's heard of it, but never seen it. Buffy smiles.

"Here… wanna try it?" Buffy offers it to Sarah.

"C—Can I?" Sarah asks. She is overwhelmed.

"Sure… just bring it back. I'm kinda fond of it" Buffy says. She picks up Sarah's sword, and swings it. " But I still like swords better" She grins.

"Ok you too… bonding later. Let's go kicks some demon butt" Faith says.

The three of them , followed by the rest of the squad, go to join in the fray.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Spike circles around Angel.

He sees both of them are still concentrating on the portal. He quickly comes up behind Angel, grabs him around the neck, and shoves the stake in his chest. But he misses, hitting the Amulet instead. The force of his blow manages to shatter the jewel, but the feedback from it burns his hand.

"Bloody HELL!! That hurts!!" He says, grabbing his hand.

"SPIKE!!! What the hell are you doing?" Angel shouts, angry and confused.

"Trying to stake you, you stupid git. But I missed, and hit that jewel thing of yours" Spike mutters. "Question is, Pouf, What the hell are YOU doing? Opening a hell dimension? What're you thinking?"

"Trying to save Buffy. She's trapped inside the dimension" Angel says. But since the jewel was smashed, he's no longer so convinced about what's going on. He feels like his head is clearing up for the first time in weeks.

" I always knew all that gel you use would rot your brains one of these days. Look over there" Spike points to where Buffy and Faith are talking to the counter-slayers. "Who do you think that short blonde is?"

"What the hell? Buffy? That's Buffy!" Angel expression changes, quickly, to rage. He turns to 'Cordelia'. She laughs at him.

"Too late, Angel. It's almost open. Don't need the amulet anymore. The orb will finish it. You're the perfect dupe. Anyone ever tell you that?" She ignores him.

Angel is enraged. He's been played for an idiot… and we know he doesn't like that. He raises the sword, and threatens her with it.

"Can't kill me with that, idiot." 'Cordelia' says, her voice changed to its true form. "You'll only kill the body. You're too late to stop this now" She laughs at him, again.

" Not going for you" He says. Before she can react, he brings the sword down on the Orb. It shatters under the impact of the blade.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo" The thing in Cordelia's body screams.

But it's way past too late. The energy in the orb is free. And it begins to expand. It's building up like a charging capacitor.

The Orb of Charnok was originally designed as a mystical weapon against "The Judge". It does exactly the opposite. It's energy attacks demons, burning them. It burns out any demon presence in its range, if it's energy is released from its container.

The Charnok energy ball is expanding… and it's beginning to discharge. Cordelia, Angel and Spike are all hit by the bolts. They burn inside each of them. All three pass out, and fall to the ground. The last thing Spike thinks is " Damn. This is the thanks I get for saving the world…second time. Next Apocalypse, I'm taking a bloody vacation on the other side of the World."

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Buffy and Faith hear the sound first. They look over, and see the energy ball. It's huge, and growing…and spitting out energy bolts. They call out to their troops.

"Everyone….DOWN ….. NOW!!!"

The slayers and counter slayers drop to the earth, but the Energy just passes them by. It starts targeting Demons and other things they are fighting. They hear the screams as the Demons fry where they stand. It starts to get really smoky and smelly…gag time. Slowly the energy ball dissipates, as the last of the demons are toasted.

Eventually, Buffy and Faith look up. They see the Energy ball has dissipated, and notice that the demons en masse are gone…well…burned to crispy critters, anyway. They stand up.

"Well…that was handy" Buffy grins.

"I want one of those next time we come across a demon nest" Faith grins. " Really makes the job easier"

Buffy looks at the Black Column…and notices that red swirls are in it. Somehow, that doesn't make her feel better.

"Faith….Buffy" Willow's voice is in her head again. God, gotta get an off switch for that, Buffy thinks.

" You gotta come now…back here. We're too late. The portal is open, and they're starting to emerge. We gotta close it now!"

Shit. Just when things were going so well.

  
Faith and Buffy, running at full speed, head back to camp.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Angel opens one eye.

Hmmm… not dead…why?

He sits up, and groans. He feels like a ton of bricks have fallen on him. He starts to get up when he feels it.

His heart… beating. What the hell?

And he's starving….for FOOD!!!

He touches his face…it's WARM.

He's alive… REALLY ALIVE. He's human!!

"What the bloody hell?" He hears Spike cursing. "What's going on? And why do I want a fridge full of food?"

Then he feels it…his heart beating.

"Oh, god. I'm…HUMAN! What the hell happened?"

The two ex-vampires look at each other…and laugh.

"You look like hell, Spike" Angel is getting a bit hysterical

" You're no beauty queen yourself, mate" Spike mocks, then grabs his head. His head feels like it wants to explode. Damn.

At that moment, both of them hear a groan. They go over and see Cordelia…her eyes are open, and she looks pissed. She sits up.

"Where the hell am I? And why am I wearing bag lady clothes?" Cordelia spits out " Last thing I remember is I'm some kind of 'higher being', then poof, I'm here….Where IS here?… eating dirt" She complains.

"Cordy? Is that you?" Angel asks. After the last time, he's taking no chances.

" Of course it's me, Angel…. HEY…what's HE doing here?" Cordelia panics. She's looking around for something to stake Spike with.

"Calm down, Cordelia, it's ok" Angel says. " It's just Spike"

" Calm DOWN? HE'S A VAMPIRE" She yells. " Sorry, no offense, Angel. I mean, he's a soulless Vampire!" She still is looking for a stake.

"Umm…pet? Wrong on both counts. I have a soul…and I'm human now" Spike says.

Cordelia just looks at him, not trusting him.

" Oh, bloody hell…here…" he sticks out his wrist. She warily places her finger on it, and feels a pulse. She looks at him, eyes wide, and mouth open.

" How…?" She starts, then looks at Angel.

Angel shrugs

" I don't know, but me too…" She looks at him. She grabs his wrist… and feels the pulse.

This is just too much for Cordelia to handle, along with everything else

She faints dead away.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

"…and a time to die"

The three of them stand in a circle.

Will, Buffy and Faith are in a circle, with Dawn in the center of that circle.

There is a design drawn in the sand. A triangle, with a circle in the center. Dawn is standing within that circle, each of the other women are at a point of the triangle.

Each of the women is nervous. They know this spell is particularly dangerous. It draws on their mystic energy. There are no amulets, totems or objects to separate them from the spell. If anything goes wrong, one or more of them could pay a heavy price. But they know there is no choice in the matter. That portal has to close, has to be sealed. Otherwise, the … things on the other side will enter this dimension, and there will be hell on earth. Literally.

The women on the outside join hands. Willow begins to chant the spell.

Artemis, Goddess of the light, hear our plea 

_Let that which has been wounded, be healed _

_Let that which has been opened, be shut _

_Raise the barriers separating us, and heal the rift _

_Let the seal be unbroken, and let the darkness be driven away. _

As the spell progresses, energies begin to swirl around the circle Slowly, it builds, creating a wall of energy. It's bluish white, and grows brighter. Soon the women are encased within the energy

Buffy feels the energy flowing in and out of her. She feels an intense pain… a pain like she has never felt before. She holds on, and keeps silent, but the pain is making her tear. She looks over at Faith, and sees her face. Faith is tearing also, biting her lip to keep from crying out. Slowly, she feels something dropping away from her…and her body seems to be lighter, no longer in pain. She looks at Faith, and Faith is smiling. She can feel Faith's finger in hers, but it's more. It's like they are melding together. She hears in Faith's voice in her mind. " You're ready?" She asks… and Buffy knows the answer " Yes, I'm ready". She feels the everything dropping away, her body no longer relevant, she is nothing but light. The last thing she thinks, before she merges with the light, is how beautiful Faith is…

Everything in this mystic plane grows brighter, much brighter. The slayer turn towards the light, and are nearly blinded by it's brilliance. The see a column of pure light reaching for the sky. It curves, and bends, and is directed towards the dark column . They see it engulf the column. Then there is a huge explosion, as the life destroys the column, and seals the portal between the dimensions. Everything is shaken. The slayers, Angel, Cordelia, Spike and the rest, lose consciousness.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

One by one, they begin to awaken.

The mystic plane, where they had fought the battle, was gone. They were back on the salt flats, spread about. The sun was rising in the East, and everyone is shaken. The huddled into groups, trying to understand what happened.

In a small heap, by the place where they had parked the vehicles, Dawn and Willow awaken. They look around, and smile. It had worked. They had beaten back the Dark, the Gods of Chaos. Then they noticed that Buffy and Faith were not around. They started looking around, calling their names, and trying to find them. Nothing.

They started to get worried. They went to Giles, who was nearby, and told him that they were missing. He went to the slayers, and had them start searching.

Everyone spent the morning, and most of the afternoon, searching for Faith and Buffy, but it was fruitless. About noon, they found Angel, Spike and Cordelia, wandering around about 5 miles away. But there was no luck in finding the Chosen Two.

By late afternoon, it began to dawn on Giles that they wouldn't find them. Slowly, reluctantly, the others began to believe it too. But not Dawn, and not Willow. They refused to believe what was staring them in the face. Late into the evening, they did everything the could to continue the search, though the others had given up. They used crystals to search for them. Willow used every locator spell she could think of to search for them, their essence, their Auras. But it was in vain. Finally, tired, defeated, they had to face the truth.

They weren't going to be found

They were gone.

They weren't coming back.

That is when Dawn and Willow finally broke down. Their legs gave out on them, and they sat where they had stood. The sobs overtook them. Pain and sorrow consumed them. Many tried to console them, comfort them. But they were devastated. They held each other, sharing their grief and sorrow.

There was a general air of mourning over the group. Despite Buffy's and Faith's efforts to downplay themselves, they were considered icons of the order. The Chosen Two. The women broke into small groups, talking about them. Those who had known them, had been trained or had worked with them, talked from first hand experience. The others talked of the legends. It was their way to honor them, and mourn their loss.

And as the others began to sleep, making makeshift beds wherever they could, Willow and Dawn stayed awake, keeping vigil.

And they mourned together, silently.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Two weeks later, the memorial was held.

It was an overcast day in Los Angeles. The grayness matched the mood of the mourners.

They had decided on a single coffin to represent both of them. They knew, even in death, somewhere, they were together. A picture of the two of them was on the casket. They were smiling in the picture.

Mourners from around the world came to be at the funeral. The cemetery was closed to the public, as their were over 20,000 mourners in attendance. They wanted to be ordinary… But they had been extraordinary.

The core group was in attendance. Giles, his heart broken, led the group. Willow, Dawn, devastated. Angel, Spike, now human, could stand in the sun, and weep. Cordelia had wanted not to come. Even though her body had been possessed by a demon, she felt somehow responsible. But both Dawn and Willow convinced her that Faith and Buffy would want her there. She cried probably most of all. Even Xander, with his wife and children, attended. It was something he had hoped he would never have to do again… attend Buffy's funeral. He tried to hide his grief, but you could see it plainly in his eyes.

They had bought a double stone for them, so even there, they would be together. It read:

Elizabeth Anne "Buffy" Summers 

1981-2007 

Faith Demarco

1982-2007

"AS ONE THEY CAME

TO LOVE SO RIGHT

THEIR LOVE A FLAME

IT BURNED SO BRIGHT

WHEN DARKNESS CAME

IT GAVE US LIGHT "

THEY SAVED US ALL AGAIN

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Ok, before you throw those rocks, read the epilogue.


	25. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Joss owns 'em. Like, tell me something new.

Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, I know. I couldn't just leave it there, now could I? Sorry about the update being a little late, but the first time I wrote this, it was really bad. Now I got it down to readable. Thanks for your patience. And I knew I couldn't post the other chapter without posting this one… so….

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now? 

Epilogue

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Six months later

Sarasota, Florida

Annie Somerset only had 10 minutes to go on her shift. 

Man, she was so glad of that. This was the third double this week she'd had to pull… all because of that jerk, Jan.  She was so hoping that Pops would finally fire her ass… but he was such a softie. He'd buy her excuses, and let her get away with it. Grrrr. And so here I  am, doing another double. Ah well, I do kinda owe him… big time. When my folks got killed 10 years ago in that car accident, he did take me in. I mean, to his family. My folks and his family been friends forever, ya know? So, he kinda got me through high school. Saw I was taken care of. So… I owe him. But man, my feet are killing me. Well, home and soak… and pray that Jan shows her dumb butt up tomorrow. Sigh.

Annie was just about to go in back, to leave, when she stopped dead in her tracks, and did a double take. She saw a dark haired girl sitting in one of Helen's tables. She… seemed so familiar, somehow. Like she knew her. She looked again…Nawwww, no one I know…but she was intrigued. She was wearing a jeans jacket , dark jeans and boots. Looked like she had rings on every finger, too. But it was the expression she had. Kinda a smirk… but not mean, ya know? Just like she owned the world, or something. Ya, right, that's why she's eating here. And she kept opening the menu, then closing it, and looking around. Hmmm.. something about her….

" Hey, Helen, I got this one"   
"Thanks, Annie. I crushed here" Helen called back, showing a tired smile.

Annie went over to where the woman was sitting, and smiled. 

" Hi, I'm Annie. What can I get ya?" 

Then this girl looks up at her, and gives her this wicked smile. Ya know? And it's like … I don't know… like I've known her somewhere. And she's got these really deep dark eyes…which are looking at her… and they have this mischievous gleam to them… c'mon, Annie, it's just a customer…

"Heya, Annie." She says, then looks at the menu again. 

Darlin', it aint gonna change. You musta looked at that thing 5 times now.

The woman's smile gets a little strained, and she finally makes up her mind.

"Ummm… Guess I'll have some coffee… and an order of toast"

 Annie does a quick assess of the girl, and figures it out. The boots are a little scruffed up, the clothes are clean, but kinda fraying at the edges…and she doesn't look like she's been eating too well, lately.

She thinks for a second, but has a good feeling about her.

"Kinda between jobs, girlfriend?" Annie asks, solicitously.

The girl blushes a little, and gets an embarrassed grin. 

"Yeah… been kinda rough finding work." She says. " But somethin'll turn up soon."

" Gotta name?" Annie asks, a bit businesslike.

" Frankie" The girl replies, wondering what's going on.

" Got a last name, Frankie?" Annie asks. She smiles to put the girl at ease.

"Yeah…Demorra. Why?" She's getting a bit suspicious now.

"Ever do any waitressing? " Annie asks. Face is all business now

"Yeah, like who hasn't?" Frankie asks. Ok, what's the deal here?

" Great, stay here. I'll be right back" Annie says, walking off to the back.

"Hey…about my order?" Frankie yells out, but Annie doesn't turn around.

Frankie sits there for a second, contemplating whether she should just get her ass up and get outta here. That waitress was weird. But… something about her … made Frankie feel ok. Don't know what . But she didn't feel… threatened or anything. Hardly…actually, the little blonde was kinda cute… but that wasn't it, either. It was like…this is stupid…like I know here from somewhere. That can't be… never seen her before. But I got Déjà vu big time here. This is nuts. I've never been in Sarasota before. But what's the deal with the 20 questions, anyway? I mean, what, you gotta give fingerprints to eat here? Speaking of which…why did she just take off?  This is crazy. Maybe I should just motor on outta here.

Annie goes in back. She catches up to Pops as he is leaving the office in back.   
"Hey, Pops" She says. She's gotta do this right, or it aint gonna happen.

"Hey, Annie. What can I do for you?"

"Ummm… about Jan. You really gotta do something about her. This is the third double I've pulled this week. My feet are gonna fall off I do anymore"

"C'mon, Annie. Give her a break. Anyway, even if I fire her, who's gonna replace her? I don't have 'em lining up here to replace her, ya know" Pops says. Maybe a little annoyed.

"Well… about that. I think I got someone for ya" Annie says, brightly.

"Oh, yeah? Who?" Pop asks.

" The girl over there…at table six" Annie points her out.

Pop goes over and takes a look. He comes back, his face showing a little annoyance.

"Ah, Annie, not another one of your strays" Pops says.

"She's not a stray, Pops. Her names Frankie Demorra, she's had experience. She's ok. C'mon, have I ever led you wrong on this before?"

Roberto "Pops" Vera had to admit, when it came to assessing potential waitresses, Annie had a knack. She had convinced him to hire Helen, who was a jewel. And Crystal, who did the night shift. She wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but she did her job well, and the customers loved her. So, she did pretty well. Certainly better than his pick… Jan.  He sighed.

" Well, I don't know, Annie…" Pops began, but Annie interrupted him.

"Please…please Pops?" She asked. Then she pulled out the secret weapon… the Eyes. 

Damn, why does she do that? Pops thought. She knows she can get away with murder with me when she does that. He sighs. She had always been able to twist him around her finger when she wanted to. 10 years ago, when Hank and Joyce Somerset had been killed in that car accident, he had taken her in. Heck, he had to. He and his wife were her god parents.  But she had always had a knack of finding his weak spot. Whenever she wanted anything, she just turned on the eyes, and he was a goner. His wife gave him hell sometimes about it… but she wasn't immune either. He had to laugh. She had been like a daughter to them both… the daughter they'd never had. When she graduated, with honors, mind you, from High School. He had been so proud. Even when she had married that loser. He and his wife had been dead set against it. Said no way they were gonna come to the wedding. So, what? She does the eye thing, and he's giving her away. Fortunately, she woke up to whatta jerk he was, and divorced his ass. But still… whenever she wanted something, badly, she got out the eyes, and he always gave in. 

" I don't get it, Annie. This is some stranger. I mean, why's it so important?" Pops asked

" Pops… ever meets someone, and feel you known them like forever?" Annie asked

He had to smile. Yeah. Her father. They had met back 30 years ago. They were both still in High School. Pops had just come here from Cuba,  and first person he met was Hank Somerset. But it was like they had been friends forever. So, he knew the feeling.

" Oh, ya. I know that one, Annie" He smiled at her.

"Well… it's like that with her. I mean, I just met her, but I got this feeling I've known her before." Annie shrugs. " Anyway, how could she be worse than Jan?" Annie said, smiling. Pops grimaced a little at that.

" Ok… ok… I'll hire her. Are you sure she even wants to work here?"

"Dunno. Didn't suss her out on it yet. But she looks like she could use one. And I'm pretty sure she'll be happy to make some money. Doesn't look like she's been eating too well. By the way, could you fix up one of your special Chicken and Rice dishes?  Kinda like to feed her. Don't want her collapsing on her first day. Don't get that look, I'll pay for it." She grins. She knows she's won.

Pop has an exasperated look on his face, but secretly he's proud of Annie. One of the best things about her is her heart. She's always looking out for the underdog.  He shakes his head as he head for the kitchen to make the Arroz con Pollo. She's always picking up strays. Usually works out ok for her. Ok, in the man department, she's kinda still batting zero. But when she assesses other women, she's batting a thousand. So, I guess it evens out huh? Someday I gotta get her off her butt and onto college. Been pushing her for years, but she hangs around here, being a waitress. She's too smart for the job. Oughta make her take some business courses. Maybe then I could retire, and leave this to her. I know she's got the brains for it…if she'd only put her butt in gear.

Annie walks back to the dining area, just as Frankie is getting up to leave.

"Hey…Frankie? Where you goin'? Annie asks, not pleased at her leaving. " Sit your butt back down"

Frankie gives her a look, like she's crazy, but then sits down.

"So?" Annie asks

"So?" Frankie replies, confused now

" So, ya wanna job?" Annie asks, smiling.

"HUH?" Frankie can't believe her ears.

" You know… you work, you get paid. Job. Want one?" Annie is grinning big time now

"Oh, yeah…for sure…where?" She asks. She's totally confused now.

"Where do you think? Here. We gotta flake on the day shift. I been covering for her the last three days, and my feet are beginning to kill me. So, we need someone. How about it?"

" I dunno…" She starts. This is getting way to weird for her.

" C'mon, what, job offers fallin' at your feet?" Annie asks, mocking her a little. Frankie blushes

" 'K.  Look, I'll be straight with you. The work is hard, the pay aint great, but you'll get by. And the meals are free. The tips are ok, and the customers are usually nice. So, whatta ya say?" Annie says, getting a little annoyed now. What? She's got something better lined up?

"Yeah… ok…sure…sounds great" Frankie can't believe her luck. She was down to her last twenty…wasn't sure where or when she was gonna get a job.

" Good. You start tomorrow. We got the uniforms in back. After you've eaten, go back and try em out 'til you find one that fits. Don't be late. You start at 8 am tomorrow. Got it?" Annie says, acting all boss like. But she's glad Frankie took the job. She really is getting to like her…why, she hasn't a clue. But she does.

"Eat? I didn't order anything" Frankie pipes up.

"Oh, I got Pops to make you his special Chicken and Rice. By the way, do you like hot?"

" Oh, yeah, I like hot" Frankie smirks. Annie finds herself blushing. What's that about? Score one for Frankie.

"Good" She covers. " Cause his Chicken and Rice'll melt your eyebrows" She laughs.

" Ummm.. I really can't afford that…" Frankie begins

" Forget it. It's covered. You can pay me back" Annie smiles. She turns to go.

"Hey… Annie?" Frankie calls out. Annie turns back. " Thanks" Frankie smiles at her. Annie feels her heart beat a little fast. Ok…now what's the deal with that?

"Forget it. Just don't  be a  flake, ok?" Annie starts to go again.

Frankie really doesn't want her to leave. " uhhh… Annie?"

Annie turns back again "Yeah?"

"Uhhh… look. When do you get off shift?" Frankie asks. 

" Oh…about 20 minutes ago" Annie smiles. 

Damn, Frankie thinks. She's pulled a double, probably tired as hell…and still is taking time to help me out here. Well, I really, really want to get to know this blonde girl better. A lot better.

" Look…uhhh" She hesitates, cause this is gonna sound stupid… or strange… or something. " Ok…hey, I owe you a job. How about you let me take you out for a drink… or something. I still gotta few bucks, and I'm working now, so I… kinda lame, huh? Look, how 'bout we get a drink or something. Ok? To celebrate?" Frankie is all flustered. Damn. I'm never like this!

Annie thinks for a second. I don't know this girl. But, something about her feels right. Ah, what the hell. 

"Sure. Why not? But hey, don't think this'll get you off the hook for dinner. I'm taking it outta your first check" She grins.

" Better. I'll buy you dinner somewhere. You choose" Frankie offers.

Annie is kinda flustered now. What the hell is that?  But then she shrugs. No big. Hey, I could use a night out, ya know? 

Anyway, it'll just be a meal with a friend… right?  No pressure or anything. Not like a date.

Just a meal with a friend. 

Two regular women having a meal. 

Why not?

It would seem the Powers that Be have a sense of humor. A wicked sense of humor.

And maybe, just maybe…  A heart

Blessed be

==Fin==

or is it?

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

I guess I didn't make it obvious enough what was going on here. Or maybe, it just really sucks. But here is what I had in mind when writing this epilogue. What was the one thing Buffy desired for most of her life as a slayer?  A normal life. A life not worrying about having to save the world, fight the vamps, etc.  Now, knowing Buffy, and Faith, how could they do that if they knew who they were? Every time some world crisis came up, they would be in it again. So, the powers that be decided to grant Buffy's wish, for having saved the world 8 times. That is, they made her normal. They bent time and events, and inserted her. They knew also that for Buffy to be totally happy, Faith had to be a part of her life. So, they put her in it too. That is what I was trying to do here… make it so they never , ever, had to save the world again. They could have what they wanted. A nice, ordinary life together. I think they deserve it. Don't you?


End file.
